The Revenge Job
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Damien Moreau is back. He has taken his revenge on Nate, now the team must avoid him and at the same time seek their own revenge for Nate. TeamFic with my usual N/S slant
1. Chapter 1

**This one is for Zee-Zee Magee. I thought I would have a crack at writing a Moreau revenge fiction. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 1

It had been three months since Nate had completely disappeared out of their lives. Three months of pure agony for all of them. Even with all of Hardison's skills and abilities he had not been able to track him. None of their contacts had been able to help, and between them all they had many. His disappearance was a mystery. They were beginning to fear the worst. That Nate was out there somewhere dead. They had tried all the morgues and hospitals, not just in Portland but the state and Boston and LA and anywhere else they thought he might have gone. They had recovered his car at the airport a week after he had gone, but there was nothing in the car to indicate where he had gone to. One thing they all knew for sure. Nate would not have left of his own volition. He would not leave them, and especially not Sophie, not without some explanation. He had taken nothing with him, and in his car they had found his wallet, his cell phone and his watch. Hardison had placed tracking devices in his shoes before, but he had not worn any of his normal ones. He had literally vanished without a trace, without a reason and without warning.

There had been no sign of a struggle at his place to indicate he had been taken from there by force. There had been no ransom note so that ruled out kidnapping. Hardison had run a check on all of his old enemies, and the teams, and come up empty handed. He had tapped into every law enforcement agency but come up with nothing there either. He had also tapped into all flights into and out of Portland. Nate had not left the country, not under his own name anyway. Even if he had left under an alias, Hardison had run facial recognition on all airport surveillance, after hacking into it. He had done this at Portland, Boson and LA, the three cities where Nate would most likely be in. Despite having found his car at Portland airport there was no indication that Nate had taken a flight, neither domestic nor international.

One morning exactly three months to the day that Nate had gone missing, they were all sitting around the breakfast table in the microbrewery when Eliot's phone rang.

"Eliot Spencer…how nice to hear your voice again..."

Eliot's blood ran cold at the words. His hair stood up and he was immediately on high alert. He forced himself to be calm as he replied.

"Moreau…" As the word left his mouth three pairs of eyes turned to stare at him with alarm.

"I have had the pleasure of the company of Nathan Ford these three months…an interesting man." Moreau said softly with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"If you've done anything to him Moreau I swear…" Eliot hissed into the phone.

"Oh I have done plenty to him Eliot. You know me…I can be a very giving host." Moreau said with an evil laugh. Eliot knew exactly what the man meant and his heart sank as he realized that Nate was either dead or as close to it as was possible to be and probably wishing he was dead. Moreau had had him for three months. Eliot shivered slightly at the thought and closed his eyes trying to block out the images that sprang to his mind.

"What do you want Moreau." He asked the man, knowing Moreau had a reason for calling.

"Well now that you ask Eliot. I want the year and a half Nathan Ford and the rest of his team, including you, took away from me. But I can't get that can I? So I will settle for the next best thing. I want you to suffer for what you did. I know that pain will not do that to you, I know that death will not do that to you. Nathan Ford has paid the price for his part. You failed him, now I will make the rest pay too. Maybe it will be Sophie Devereaux next or maybe Parker or the Hacker Hardison. You cannot protect them, just like you failed to protect him. I made him pay for every last minute I spent in that hell hole. Now that I am done with him it is time to settle the score with the rest. He trusted you, relied on you and you failed him. When I am through, you will have failed all of them, just like you failed him. That is your punishment." Moreau said his voice smooth and calm. He knew that Eliot would never forgive himself for Nate; and that if anything happened to any of the others, it would destroy the Hitter.

Eliot's face darkened as he listened. Fear gripped him tightly. Fear and sadness at the thought of what Nate must have gone through. Well he would not allow Moreau to get to the others he vowed to himself. He knew that Moreau had called because he was sure of himself and besides, he needed Eliot to know he had failed in order to punish him. He looked over at the three who watched him with intense stares. He would protect them, and he would kill Damien Moreau, if it was the last thing he ever did.

"You should not have showed your hand Damien, this was a mistake." His voice ice cold and filled with venom. "If you come near them, I will kill you."

"Ah Eliot, you forget who I am."

"On the contrary, I know exactly who you are and what you are capable of. You however forget who I am. What you made me. Well let me tell you something Damien, the only reason you were not dead a year and a half ago was Nathan Ford, now nothing will stop me." Eliot said acidly. He was beyond angry, beyond fearful, he was moving into the twilight, the place he lived, into the darkness of his old life. He would revenge his friend, and he would protect their family and if he had to kill every man in Moreau's employ to do that he would.

"We shall see Eliot…" Damien Moreau said quietly then the line went dead.

"Eliot…?" Sophie asked as he turned back to face the three of them.

"Damien Moreau has Nate…" He stopped and drew a deep breath. "Had Nate…" He whispered softly.

"Oh God NO!" Sophie sobbed the meaning of the last two words not being lost on her.

Parker and Hardison said nothing but the expressions on their faces indicated that they too understood the meaning of Eliot's words. Nate was dead. Damien Moreau had killed him.

"Not possible…he is still in jail…he is still in jail." Hardison mumbled. One of the first people he had checked out at the start was the whereabouts of one Damien Moreau. "I swear to you Eliot…" Hardison said looking up at the Hitter with pleading eyes. "I checked, he…I checked." Hardison said. How could he have missed it? If he had not missed it they could have been onto Moreau and Nate…

"I know Hardison…" Eliot said his eyes softening sensing the desperation of the Hacker and knowing what he was thinking. "I don't know how this happened. I don't know who is all involved. I do know that this is not your fault." Eliot said softly. Hardison looked at the Hitter devastation plain to see in his eyes. "What we have to do now is concentrate on staying alive and getting Moreau. He is coming for us, for all of you. Nate would want us to make sure he does not succeed, nothing else matters. We will sort all of the rest out later, after." Eliot said. He needed Hardison and the rest of them to be on their games. Moreau was coming for them and when he did, they could not be distracted by anything, Moreau knew that. That was why he had called, to put them off their game, to make them easier targets. "We can mourn Nate after we get his killer."

"This time he will NOT GO TO JAIL." Sophie said her voice just as cold and deadly as Eliot's had been when he spoke to Moreau. The emphasis she put on the last three words were plain in their meaning. Moreau would not go to jail because he would be dead.

**I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my new story. As always I look forward to reading all of your reviews. Please let me know your thoughts and have your comments. Do you think Moreau really killed Nate or is he still alive? How do you think Moreau will make his move against the rest? Who do you think he will target first? So many questions… **** I will try to update as soon as possible, but I probably will not be able to update as regularly as my other stories as I have just started a new job and it is quite hectic at the moment.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So Eliot, what's the plan?" Sophie asked her voice cold, disconnected and resolute.

"First we get safe. Moreau knows this place, he knows where we are. He's watching us."

"Let's just go and kill him." Parker said simply. She was not interested in running away. She was not interested in anything except making Moreau pay for what he had done.

"We will." Eliot said softly. "But to do that we have to stay alive."

"I…I…" Hardison stuttered from his corner of the room where he was working furiously on his laptop. "I still don't know how he got out without me knowing…I should have…"

"It doesn't matter Hardison. He's a cleaver son-of-a-bitch and he got out. That's all there is to it." Sophie said moving over to the Hacker who sat with his head in his hands shaking his head slowing as tears flowed down his face. "Hardison look at me." She said coming to a stop in front of him. "Look at me." She said again softly.

Hardison raised his head and his eyes locked with hers. "I…Sophie….Nate…"

"Hardison, you checked, you double checked, we all know that, we know that you would never ever compromise on our safety and that you did everything that you could to try to find Nate. According to all the information Moreau is still there in San Lorenzo in jail right?" Sophie asked not taking her eyes of off the Hacker.

"Right…but…"

"No but's Hardison. Without actually flying to San Lorenzo to verify it for all intents and purposes he is still there right?"

"Sophie…I should have realized…I should have known…"

"You couldn't have Hardison. None of us could have. What has happened has happened. Nate is gone. Moreau is out there and he is going to come after us now. Nate trusted you to have our backs no matter what and we need you Hardison. We need you to focus. We need to find him and make him pay for…" She closed her eyes for a brief moment. "He has to pay for Nate and we can't do that without you."

"What if…what if I get it wrong again…I can't…"

"Hardison enough…we don't have the luxury to wallow in what we should have or could have done. We don't have the luxury of falling apart thinking about..." Sophie blanched slightly as her mind threw pictures of torture and death at her, but she pushed those aside and steeled herself again. "That will come later, after. Now we have a job to do, understand?"

Hardison looked at the woman standing before him. He could see she was fighting to keep herself from falling into a pit of despair, his eyes then moved to Eliot who stood stoically watching the proceedings, to Parker who sat on the counter nodding her head in agreement with Sophie. He knew they did not blame him, he knew that he could not have known it was Moreau. He knew all of that but still it killed him to think of what Nate had gone through at the hands of the man, it killed him to think that he could have maybe stopped that, that he could have saved Nate. He had no doubt that Moreau had killed Nate and he had no doubt that Nate had suffered terribly before the end had come. Moreau had to pay for that. He had to pay for it dearly and he could tell by Sophie and Eliot's attitudes that he was going to.

"Ok…so Eliot, what's the plan?" Hardison said tearing his eyes away from Sophie and focusing on the Hitter.

"First we need a base. Sophie, you get us a safe house, it has to be defendable and completely self-contained. Parker you help her, it needs to be stocked with weapons, food and anything else we might need. Hardison we need to track Moreau. I don't think he will use any of his old places, but I have a few ideas of where we can start. I need your help with that. For now we stay here. Nobody goes anywhere alone. He has got access to some serious players, killers, we have to be careful and slow…we can't let our need for revenge, or our feelings about Nate overwhelm us now, that is what he wants." Eliot said letting his words sink in for a few seconds before continuing. "Another thing, we keep in constant contact, earbuds in at all times, nobody does anything or goes anywhere without telling me…" He looked at all of them his eyes hard. He had two jobs, keep them safe and make sure Moreau paid the price for Nate. His first priority though was keeping them safe and alive, that is what Nate would want, what he would expect. "Understood?"

They all nodded their heads in agreement then each of them got to work on their assignments. Sophie started making calls to get them a place to use as their base of operations for the duration. Parker got to work making lists of things they would need to stock the place and then started making calls of her own. Hardison and Eliot huddled around the laptop going through any and all camera footage Hardison could get his hands on in the vicinity of places Eliot thought Moreau would have been located.

Eliot knew they did not have much time. Moreau had obviously planned this, in detail. He would expect Eliot to react in a certain way. He would expect Eliot to lead the rest of the team straight to Moreau in a head on, go for the kill, attack. He was going to learn that Eliot was not the same man he used to be. He was going to regret ever getting out of that jail. He knew that once Moreau realized that Eliot was not going to play his game the way he thought, he would send his men. They had to be ready for him when that happened. As for Nate, Eliot was not completely sure that he was dead. Moreau would probably not have killed him, made him suffer, tortured him, but not killed him. He would want Nate to watch them die, to show him that he was better than him, smarter than him. Eliot closed his eyes at the thought, if Nate was alive, he was probably in terrible shape. No matter what happened though, Eliot was going to bring Nate home, keep his team safe and kill Damien Moreau.

"Right I've got us a place." Sophie said breaking into Eliot thoughts. "It's fully stocked and ready, we can go any time."

"Yeah, I've secured the other stuff that Hardison needed and weapons, we can pick them up on the way." Parker said putting down the phone she had been busy with.

"Right, get your stuff together, we go in thirty minutes." Eliot said then stepped away from the group to make a call of his own.

**Thank you all so much for your great response to chapter one, it is really appreciated. Thank you also for all your good thoughts for my new job. **

**Who do you think Eliot was calling? Do you think Eliot is right and Nate is still alive? How do you think they are going to be able to find Moreau? Please keep your reviews coming…they really inspire me to try to update as soon as I can. I enjoy reading all of your thoughts on the chapter and speculations of what is still to come.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He was falling, falling and fighting, fighting for breath that was denied to him. This was the fourth time, or was it the fifth. He couldn't remember. He was dying, again. He heard the maniacal laughter as his body convulsed fighting off the impending darkness as liquid flooded his lungs causing him to gag and struggle for breath. The battle though was in vein and once again he succumbed to the blackness of death, only to find himself coughing and spluttering, expelling the water that had drown his lungs only moments before. As he coughed the pain from broken ribs shot through him. He was tired, so tired, and pain radiated through his body. He was bleeding from various injuries on his body, his nerve endings were raw from the electrical currents that had surged through him. He had no idea how long this had been going on, he had lost track of time. He had been kept here for at least a few weeks before Moreau had arrived, during that time he had been beaten regularly but only when Moreau had arrived, did the torture really begin. Since then time had become meaningless. He did not know if it was night or day, he was being kept in a barn of some kind, in a little cage in the middle of the empty cavernous room. The cage was not quite big enough for him to stand upright, even if he could. It was also too small for him to lie stretched out. The floor was concrete and he had not been afforded any kind of luxury, least of all a mat. It was kept in complete darkness when his torturers were not there, then it was brightly lit almost blindingly so. He did not know where he was, the only thing that he knew was he was alone. For that he was grateful. Moreau had him, but none of the others. Hopefully he had succeeded in giving them time to get away, Eliot must have found his message and secured the rest of the team. Roughly he was lifted up and held in front of his tormentor.

"I think we are done for today Ford. I do not want to let you die before I have had my full measure of enjoyment of you." He said lifting Nate's head and looking into his eyes. Nate looked back, his eyes hooded as he fought to stay conscious.

"Take him back to the cell." He told the two men holding Nate.

Moreau watched as Nate was dragged back to the little cell he was being held in. The men pushed him through the gate watching as Nate collapsed onto the hard cold concrete and then lay unmoving. They closed the gate and moved away as Moreau approached.

"Once I am done with you Ford, I will start on Ms. Devereaux. I am going to enjoy putting her through her paces." Moreau laughed loudly. "As an added bonus Ford, you can watch as I do my worst with her. Why don't you think on that until we meet again…" Moreau said smiling maliciously at the caged man.

Nate did not respond to Moreau's taunts, he did not want to give the man the pleasure of having him show his fear at the thought of Moreau getting his hands on Sophie, or any of the other members of his team. He heard his footsteps as he departed and then the familiar click as the lights were turned off and he was plunged into complete darkness again. He liked the darkness. It meant he was safe from torture, at least for a while. He pulled himself into a ball as he curled up into a fetal position. Pain was now his constant companion and his breathing was laboured, harsh. His mind raced. Moreau had Sophie; the thought scared him more than anything Moreau could do to him. No, no he did not have Sophie, at least not yet he reasoned to himself, trying to calm the panic that had beset him at the thought. If he had he would have displayed her to him by now. No he was sure the man did not have her or any of the others. He was obviously going to try to get them though. When Moreau had contacted him he knew he had to go along with him. He knew he had to give his team time to get away. He had to give Eliot time to come up with a way to protect them. He knew when he had agreed to go to Moreau that it was probably his end. The only thing he had thought about though was giving Eliot and the others…Sophie…the time they needed. The fact that all this time had passed and he was still alone must mean that his Hitter had done what Nate had trusted him to do, keep them safe and away from Moreau. If he hadn't…Nate shivered but this time not from the cold. If Moreau got his hands on Sophie he was not sure how he was going to cope with that. Suddenly the room was filled with Moreau's voice. It was loud as it spilled out of the loudspeakers placed around his cage and echoed through the large warehouse.

"Oh by the way Ford, just thought you would like to know, that little message you left for our friend Mr. Spenser…he never got it. I thought you should know that your attempt to sacrifice yourself for them was very touching but alas in vein…so sorry about that old boy…they just think you left them, abandoned them, they have no idea what is coming. I think it is so much better that way, don't you?" Moreau's maniacal laugh filled his ears as tears pricked at his eyes.

Nate closed his eyes as he listened to Moreau's voice. No it was not true. He could not have failed his team like that. Eliot must have found the message, he must have. Could they really believe he would just leave them, for no apparent reason? He started to shiver as the cold of the floor and the frigid night air seeped into him. Each violent shiver brought shards of pain and he grimaced shutting his eyes tight and trying to keep his breathing shallow and even. He had to get out of here, he had to warn them. Even as he thought about it he knew it was futile, even if he could figure out a way to get out of the cage, he was too weak to make a run for it, and besides he did not even know where he was. It was up to Eliot now to keep them safe. Even if they had not found the message, they would know that he would never leave Sophie, not without telling her why or where he was going. He would never leave them, not just disappear like that. Surely they would know and Eliot would be on alert. Eventually he drifted into a troubled sleep his dreams filled with terrifying images of Sophie in the hands of Damien Moreau.

**So Eliot was right, Nate is still alive but not in very good condition. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I really appreciate each and every review I receive. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few hours later the team were neatly ensconced in their safe house. It was as secure as anything Eliot could have asked for. It had solid walls, minimal windows and was completely self-contained as he had requested. They could hold up in it against an army for quite a while. There was also no way anybody was getting in or out without them knowing.

"Ok so where do we stand?" Sophie asked as they settled down in front of the large screens Hardison had put up in the living area.

"I am still running facial recognition on all airport cameras for the last three months, but it is going to take time." Hardison told them.

"Yeah and he probably came in on a private flight and landed at a small airfield to avoid exactly that. Remember he knows us, he knows who we are and what we do especially you Hardison. He's going to avoid doing anything that you can pick him up on."

"If he appears anywhere in town, I'll find him." Hardison stated.

"So he'll stay out of town then…Eliot?" Sophie turned to the Hitter.

"Yeah, there are a lot of places out there, not far from town. Isolated places, farms and such, they would be perfect for Moreau to use, especially if he was holding somebody." Eliot said.

"I just don't understand how he got Nate." Sophie said looking at the Hacker.

"Well, the last footage we have of Nate is leaving his building as you know. He left alone and on his own power. Either Moreau had him picked up or he lured Nate to him. We also know Nate took his own car when he left but arrived at the bar in a cab. When Eliot went to go see the bartender, he said Nate had had a couple of drinks and then left, alone. There are no cameras down there and there were no pick-ups by any cab company either. Nate just disappeared from there. And how the hell did his car get to the airport?"

"I don't know, but Moreau obviously picked him up at the bar. His instructions must have been to leave the car, his wallet and the rest of the stuff at the airport, maybe as a distraction, so that we will spend our time looking at flights and concentrating on that. And it worked too." Eliot said as Hardison finished rehashing what they already knew from their previous investigations.

"What would make Nate go…I mean without telling any one of us that he was going to a meet?" Eliot asked. This was a question he had been wrestling with for three months.

"Well we can assume that Moreau had something to do with it." Sophie said.

"Yeah…but still…" Eliot stopped suddenly realizing what might have happened. "If Nate thought we were in danger, if somebody was threatening us…he would do anything to stop that."

"So he was told to go to the bar or something would happen to one of us?" Parker asked following Eliot's train of thought.

"Nate would have gone no questions asked. He must have been told not to tell us or…"

"Or one of us would be harmed, most likely Sophie…" Parker completed Eliot's sentence.

"That would explain it." Hardison concurred. "But how and when was he contacted. I mean like I said, there were no messages or odd calls on his phone. In fact there was nothing in his in box…Moreau must have wiped it clean…I should have seen that as well. I just thought, well you know Nate has no friends…"

Eliot just looked at Hardison. "Well they must have had some convincing way of making him believe that if he clued us in they would know." Eliot surmised.

"Even so Nate would have left something for us to find if anything went wrong though…he would have found a way to leave a clue as to what was happening, who was behind it." Sophie said casting her mind back three months and going over the events leading up to Nate's disappearance. "If he thought we were in danger, he would have found a way to make sure that you knew Eliot, in case he was not able to handle it. He would have made sure we were protected."

"Yeah he would have. We missed something. But what..?" Eliot agreed with her. "We need to go back to his place, and the brewery. You're right Sophie; he would have left something behind to indicate what was going on. Nate went to that bar for a reason, and he did not tell anyone of us he was going so we can assume that it was to protect us. We need to retrace all our steps over the last three months, go over everything again, this time looking for something to link with Moreau."

"You think he knew it was Moreau…?" Sophie said with wide eyes. Could Nate really have given himself up to the man? She knew he could have and would have if he thought it would save them, even if he thought it would only give them some time to save themselves. He would have done it and she knew it.

"I don't know Sophie…but let's say he did. We need to go over everything, every part of his place and his office and his crash pad with new eyes." Eliot said, the thought that Nate had willingly gone to Moreau, knowing the type of man Moreau was, sent waves of anger through him. Did Nate not trust him yet to deal with the team's safety? How could the man be so stupid and self-sacrificing? He should have come to Eliot immediately if there was a threat to the team, especially from Moreau. Eliot was the one in charge of security, he was the one who should deal with threats. Eliot was supposed to protect him and the team. Nate was not supposed to take things into his own hands even if he thought he would be protecting Eliot and the team.

"So how do we do this?" Sophie asked brining the Hitter out of his thoughts.

"Why don't Parker and I go to the brewery and you and Sophie go to Nate's?" Hardison suggested.

"No Hardison. We don't split up. We go together." Eliot said shaking his head. He was not going to take the chance that Moreau made his move when Eliot was not there to protect them, and he had no doubt Moreau was biding his time waiting for the right time to strike. That time would be when one, or even two of them were alone, separated from him. He was not going to give Moreau that chance. No they would stay together, and besides four pairs of eyes were better than two.

"Ok…let's go then." Parker said heading for the door.

It was late when they returned back to the safe house. They had found nothing, nothing that could tell them how Nate's abduction by Moreau had happened. They found no note, no message, nothing from Nate to warn them of Moreau. Hardison finally voiced what he was thinking, agonizing over, that Nate must have left something on his phone, a message, that was why it appeared to have been wiped clean, and he had not picked it up then. The four were dejected and tired and all of them were wondering what Moreau's next move would be.

"Why do you think he hasn't contacted us again…you again Eliot, and why hasn't he made a move against any one of us?" Sophie asked as they all filed through to the kitchen, Parker headed for the cupboard and her comfort food of dry cereal and Sophie headed for the tea pot.

"I don't know. Moreau likes games. He likes to be in control and he knows me, he expects me to come straight at him, brining you all along with me. He wants us to focus on what may have happened to Nate, what he did to him…" Eliot replied his mind again threatening to overwhelm him with images of Nate in Moreau's hands. Eliot knew what Moreau was capable of. He knew what Moreau liked, he knew him to be a psychopath who enjoyed watching his victims suffer untold agonies, not that Moreau got his hands dirty, no he used people for that, people like Eliot. Sometimes though, when it was very personal, Moreau would play a part. He had no doubt that Moreau had had a direct part in Nate's torture.

"What would he have done to him…?" Sophie asked softly, hesitantly, in a small scared voice that drew Eliot's gaze to her.

"A lot of things Sophie, I'm not going to lie to you. He will have tortured him before...before killing him." Eliot replied. He did not want to tell them what he knew Moreau was likely to have done. What his favorite forms of torture were, how Nate must have suffered, could still be suffering.

"Could he still be alive?" Parker asked staring at the Hitter with hope in her eyes.

Eliot looked at her then at Sophie and Hardison. "I don't know…maybe."

"What…you think Moreau hasn't killed him yet?" Sophie said sitting straight up in her chair and staring intently at him.

"I don't know Sophie. But if I know Moreau, and I do, he will probably want Nate alive to see us suffer and watch him kill us. He would want to lord it over him, show him how smart he is, get his ultimate revenge on him." Eliot replied. "But it is just as likely that Nate is dead." He added taking away the hope at the same time as giving it.

"But he could be…" Hardison said softly.

"Yes he could be." Eliot confirmed again.

"Then we have to move fast. Eliot, how do we get Moreau to make a move?" Sophie said suddenly filled with new energy. Nate could be alive. If he was they needed to get to him as soon as possible. God knows what Moreau had done to him already.

"I put a call in to an old friend of mine. He still has some dealings with Moreau. I'm hoping he has some information. Until then we sit tight."

"We can't…." Parker said loudly. "You said Nate could still be alive. If he is we can't just sit here and not do anything to get to him. Let's just draw Moreau out, let him take one of us. Let Moreau take me, and you can track me and…"

"Slow down Parker. I know how you all feel, I feel the same, but if we rush this. If we make rash moves because we think…THINK…Nate might still be alive; then we are going to lose more than just Nate. We could lose everything."

"But if he is still alive we can't just leave him." Parker said softly pouting at the Hitter, not liking what Eliot had to say.

"Parker, this is the only way. Moreau is after all of us for San Lorenzo. If one of us is taken now, it will go worse for Nate if he is still alive. We have to be careful…thorough… we can't just rush in, because that is exactly what Moreau wants."

"Fine Eliot…we'll do it your way." Sophie said bringing an end to the debate. "What do we do next?"

"We get some rest. We wait for my friend to call, then we can make our plans." Eliot said succinctly.

"Good, I'll be in my room." She said as she rose and left the table. She made her way into her room feeling all of their eyes on her. She closed the door softly then sank to the ground with her back against it and sobbed, letting all of the emotions she had held in check throughout the day flow out of her with her tears.

Eliot watched as Sophie entered her room and closed the door. This must be so hard on the woman, on all of them but especially Sophie, considering her relationship with Nate. He looked at the Hacker and the Thief.

"You two should get some rest to." He told them.

Hardison nodded in response and taking the reluctant Parker by the hand dragged her to their room. Eliot watched them go and then settled on the couch for the night. He was sure none of them would run off and do something stupid but you never knew with Parker. He decided to stay in the front so that they could not get passed him if they did decide to go.

Sophie still sat slumped against her door. She had stopped sobbing and was simply sitting, she did not have the energy to get up and move to the bed. Her phone started to vibrate jerking her out of her malaise. Looking at the screen it did not show a number she recognized. She pressed the answer button but remained silent listening for an indication of who it might be.

"Ms. Devereaux, I hope I did not catch you at an inopportune time." Moreau's smooth voice carried to her.

"Moreau…"

"Yes, I have a little surprise for you Ms. Devereaux, please take a look at the video I have sent you…I will wait." He told her.

Sophie switched to the message she had just received with the video link. Playing it all the color drained from her face and tears once again filled her eyes.

"As you can see Mr. Ford is in a difficult position right now."

"You bastard." Was all Sophie could say as the video came to an end.

"Now, now Ms. Devereaux, or can I call you Sophie…" Moreau said his voice light and filled with humor. "I am going to give you a chance to alleviate some of Mr. Ford's suffering. If you do exactly what I tell you, I will cease torturing him. Do you understand?"

"What do you want." Sophie asked already knowing the answer.

"Why you my dear…you will meet my people in one hour at the same bar that I met your Mr. Ford at. If you are not there…well I will have to take my frustrations out on your dear friend here."

"I'll be there." Sophie replied without hesitation. She shouldn't, she knew that, but how could she not. If she could distract Moreau from Nate, spare him at least a little, she was willing to suffer any and all consequences.

"Very well…and Ms. Devereaux, if I see any sign of Eliot Spenser or the other two…well the deal is off and I will spend more quality time with Mr. Ford." Moreau said before hanging up.

Sophie stared down at the phone for a few minutes digesting the conversation and considering her options. Then she moved quickly, getting a pen and paper she wrote Eliot a note explaining what had happened and why she was doing what she was doing. She also left her phone on the note for him to see with an indication that he should look at the last incoming message. She had a plan, it was not a brilliant plan but it was a plan and she was not just going to give herself up to Moreau for nothing. She just hoped it would work. Placing everything neatly on the bed for Eliot to find in the morning, she moved stealthily out of the room and passed the sleeping Hitter mouthing her apology to him as she passed. Then she slipped out of the door.

**Thanks so much for all of your reviews. I really do appreciate all of them. Please keep them coming. What do you think Eliot and the others reaction will be when they find Sophie gone? What do you think Sophie's plan is? Ho w is Nate going to react when he finds out Moreau has Sophie?**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So my friend says that Moreau is definitely here in Portland. He doesn't know exactly where. He was contacted and asked if he wanted to take a job for him." Eliot told the Hacker and the Thief as they stood in the kitchen in the early morning. Sophie had not yet emerged from her room and Eliot thought it was best to give her some space. She would make her appearance when she was ready.

"I take it he didn't." Hardison asked.

"He did."

"What?" Hardison said in surprise. If the man had taken the job how did he not know where Moreau was?

"Yeah he took the job. But it did not entail doing anything to Nate. He is to sit tight until contacted by Moreau and told to make his move against us. He was being paid good money to just sit around and wait."

"Waiting for Moreau to tell him to take one of us?"

"Yeah." Eliot said simply.

"Who is this 'friend' of yours? A Hitter… a killer? How do you know you can trust him?" Hardison asked.

"Someone I knew a long time ago Hardison, we worked together, he owes me and I've called in my favour. We can trust his information, as much as he gave me."

"So has Moreau contacted him yet?"

"No…but when he does, my friend will come do his job, he will come for us. He is good, and he will not be alone. Favors only carry so much weight and my one favour is used. He's given me the heads up, but that is all I am going to get. Moreau is paying good money, and besides if you say you'll take a job for him, you don't go back on that, not without ending up very dead."

"Alright, so we know Moreau has people working for him, not that we did not know that before. We know he is going to send guys after us at some time or the other, what we don't know is where the hell he is holding up…and maybe holding Nate." Hardison summarized the situation.

"That's about it." Eliot agreed then looked toward Sophie's room door.

"Do you think we should wake her up?" Parker asked following the Hitters eyes and seeing the look of concern on his face.

"Yeah…I'll get breakfast going, you go get her up."

Parker nodded and made her way to Sophie's door, stopping just in front of it she knocked lightly. It was not her usual thing but she did not want to burst in unannounced on Sophie right now. When she got no response she softly called the woman's name as she opened the door and entered the room. The first thing she noticed is that the bed had not been slept on. The second thing she noticed was the cellphone and the note addressed to Eliot lying on the bed.

"Eliot…Eliot…" She called out as she moved towards the bed. Eliot and Hardison appeared almost instantaneously beside her.

"What the hell…" Hardison said also noting the undisturbed bed and the cellphone and note and drawing his own conclusions.

"Eliot she's gone." Parker said returning from the bathroom after checking if Sophie was perhaps in there.

Eliot said nothing. He had picked up the note addressed to him and read it. Damn the woman, damn her. He thought to himself as he read Sophie's explanation of her leaving and what she was doing. He picked up the phone and opened the message playing the same video Sophie had watched hours before. Parker and Hardison watched with him and they both had the same reaction Sophie had had. Eliot watched impassively. He had expected Moreau to use this kind of torture. Watching it though he understood why Sophie had left. She was hoping to spare Nate any more torture. She was just not thinking straight.

"Moreau must have contacted her…she's gone to meet him." Eliot informed the other two. "Hardison, get on your laptop and track her earbud. We can't talk to her or hear her but she said in the note that she would try to hide it on her person so that we could track her."

Hardison turned and moved quickly to his computer. He accessed the program he needed and his screen sprang to life, indicating where the earbud was located. It was moving, heading out of town in a southerly direction. Hardison looked up at the Hitter waiting for instructions.

"We go in five..." Eliot said as he made his way to his room to collect what he would need.

Parker went to her room too. She was not going to go up against Moreau unarmed. As much as Eliot hated guns, she knew how to use one and she was going to shoot the son-of-a-bitch when she found him. Tucking the gun into her waistband she rejoined the other two.

"Right, let's go…" Eliot said as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

**Sorry a bit of a short chapter. Do you think the team will catch up to Sophie before she gets to Moreau? Please keep the reviews coming, I appreciate the time and effort you take to leave them for me and they mean a lot to me.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sophie made her way to the bar that Moreau had told her to go to. She was apprehensive, knowing what she was letting herself in for, but not willing to leave Nate alone to suffer. Once at the bar she waited outside, she did not have to wait long. A black SUV pulled up next to her and the back door opened. She approached the car and climbed in. Once inside she had a gun shoved in her side and was told to sit still and remain silent. She did not recognize any of the men in the car. Moreau was not there. The man in the seat beside her took her purse, her watch and all of her jewelry, throwing them out of the window of the car. Then he leaned over and frisked her quickly making sure she had no weapons or anything else. Once he was satisfied he nodded to the driver who gunned the engine of the car and they sped off into the night.

They drove north out of town for a few miles then turned off onto a dirt road leading to a large farm house. Once there Sophie was searched again, this time a little more thoroughly, before being taken into the house. Moreau was waiting for her.

"Ah, the beautiful Ms. Devereaux….or… Sophie is it? Or perhaps you would like to be called something else, Mrs. Ribera perhaps…"

"Ms. Devereaux will be fine." Sophie replied not allowing herself to be drawn in by Moreau and not showing any of the fear she felt.

One of the men from the car came up to him and produced what he had taken off of Sophie during his search.

"Tut…tut Ms. Devereaux…did you think my men would not have found this?" He asked holding up the earbud. "Oh well…I would have been disappointed if you did not at least try something." He smiled at her. Then he whispered something to his man who took the earbud and left.

"Now I believe there is somebody who is not going to be very happy to see you…" He told her taking her arm and leading her out of the house and towards a big barn that was situated at the back of the property.

Sophie went along with him without any resistance. She wanted to see Nate. As they entered the barn a switch was thrown lighting the entire area brightly. In the middle of the room she saw a metal cage with a man lying curled up on the floor inside of it. Nate…

"Nate…" She cried out pulling out of Moreau's grasp and running to the cage. She dropped to her knees grabbing the bars and calling his name again.

"Sophie…?" Nate said groggily as he was pulled out of his sleep by her voice. He forced his eyes open and looked directly at the woman who knelt on the other side of the bars. "Oh God Sophie…" He said as he realized she was really there.

"Nate…Nate…what have they done to you…?" Sophie said softly taking in his disheveled, torn and blood streaked clothes. He looked about fifty years older and pain was etched on his features.

Nate pushed himself up and moved to the side of the cage so that he could reach out and touch her. "Sophie…he got you…Oh God…Sophie…" Nate almost sobbed. This could not be happening. Moreau had Sophie and there was nothing he could do.

"It's ok Nate…it's going to be ok…" Sophie said reaching through the bars and placing her hand on his cheek. She could feel the coldness of his skin which sent a shiver down her back, he looked sick, his breathing was hitched and harsh as if he was struggling for each breath. His eyes were hollowed out and haunted. She felt tears prick her eyes again as she whispered to him that she loved him, that it would be ok, even though she knew it wouldn't. Her plan had failed. They had found the earbud, now she was at the mercy of Moreau and nobody was coming for her.

Moreau who had followed her to the cage reached down then and pulled her away and too her feet.

"Leave her alone you bastard…" Nate screamed at him in a hoarse voice. "Please Moreau…" He almost begged. He could not see him do to her what he had done to him, he couldn't.

"No Mr. Ford…she is my plaything now…mine to toy with…but." Moreau smiled evilly at Nate before continuing. "I will let you watch." And with that he moved Sophie away from Nate.

"Moreau…Moreau…don't touch her…I'll kill you, you bastard…I'll kill you!" Nate called after him grabbing onto the bars of the cage and pulling himself up despite the agony it caused. His words were met with a derisive laugh as both Moreau and Sophie disappeared out of the barn and Nate was plunged again into darkness and silence.

"Oh God No Sophie…." Nate said as he fell back onto the floor not caring about the cold, not caring about the pain that surged through him, not caring about anything. Moreau had Sophie…Moreau had Sophie…he kept repeating to himself in disbelief.

"He has held up quite well…" Moreau said to Sophie as he led her back into the house. "We shall see if you are as resilient as he is."

"You can go to hell." Sophie spat at him her anger filling her making her reckless and belligerent.

"Oh I am sure I will Ms. Devereaux…but you and your friends will precede me there…" He laughed as he led her to one of the rooms and pushed her inside. "Until I am ready to proceed with you, you will stay here. Don't try to escape Sophie. If you do…I will take my anger out on Ford…" He said as he closed the door and locked it.

Sophie did not reply she just watched the door close then inspected the room. There was no way out except for the door, and after Moreau's parting words she was not about to try and escape anyway. She sank down to the floor and closed her eyes. Whatever happened now she had no control over. She hoped that Eliot and Hardison and Parker would come up with some plan, but she did not hold out much hope of that. She had gambled and lost and now she was going to pay the price. She thought of Nate, what he looked like, his pallor, the coldness of his face, his haunted eyes filled with pain and fear. She replayed the video in her mind and shuddered, she would not give Moreau the satisfaction of breaking her, she would not allow him to break her in front of Nate, no matter what he did.

Time passed slowly. Every minute that passed Sophie expected Moreau to make his appearance to take her to the barn and start her torture. Every time she heard footsteps outside the door her heart stopped. Nobody came though. The hours passed. She was sure that it was now daylight. They had taken her watch so she had lost track of what time it was. Eliot and the others must have discovered she was gone by now. She could image that Eliot was seething with anger, but she had done what she had to do. After seeing Nate she was sure that he could not take much more, so if Moreau was going at least leave him alone for a while, she was happy to take some of the punishment to spare him. She paced the room for a while and then sank down onto the floor resting her head against the wall. Still nobody came. What the hell was Moreau doing?

Nate was suddenly bathed in bright light again. He was not sure how long it had been since Moreau had brought Sophie to see him, maybe a few hours. Immediately he looked up to see if she was with him again. His heart clenched in fear as he fixed his eyes on Moreau. He was alone. Nate was not sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He watched as Moreau approached the cage but said nothing. One of Moreau's men moved to place a chair just outside the cage. Moreau smiled at Nate and took a seat. He held out his hand and one of his men put a glass of wine in it. He took a slow sip of it staring at Nate all the while.

"A beautiful woman Ms. Devereaux..." Moreau said smoothly taking another sip of wine. "She has curves in all the right places, so soft and so….delicious." He said smiling at Nate watching the horror on the man's face as he realized what Moreau was saying. "Feisty too…I like them feisty."

"You son-of-a-…" Nate said lunging at the bars behind which Moreau said. As he reached out and touched the bars he was hit with a bolt of electricity. Moreau had wired the metal cage and Nate was thrown back by the force of the surge of electricity hit him.

"Now Mr. Ford…please do not make me hurt you any more…after all I did promise her if she gave herself up to me I would not touch you again…" taking another sip of his wine he smiled again then looked at the broken man who stared back at him. "At least not for a while..." He laughed as he stood and moved closer to the bars. "I am going to enjoy every bit of her…take everything she has…and then I am going to give her to my men." Moreau said darkly to Nate. "Next time I may let you watch." He laughed and walked away.

Nate stared at the retreating man. Then he heard the familiar throw of the switch and he was submerged in darkness again. Nate grabbed the cage bars hoping for the electricity to hit him again. He wanted to feel pain, he wanted it to consume him, he wanted to feel nothing. He closed his eyes as nothing happened and then sank back onto the floor. The thought of what Moreau had done to Sophie overwhelmed him and he slowly shut himself down, drowning his emotions, his feelings, until nothing was left.

**Thanks again for all of your reviews. Please keep them coming, I appreciate every one of them. Do you think Eliot and the others are going to be able to find Sophie since Moreau found the earbud? What do you think Moreau will do to Sophie? And what about poor Nate…?**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The three of them drove at breakneck speed following the signal of the earbud Sophie had taken with her. As they left town driving south Hardison told Eliot that the signal had stopped moving. The signal was now stationary a couple of miles away from them directly down the road they were traveling on.

"What's out here Hardison?" Eliot asked the Hacker.

"Nothing, and I mean nothing. No farms no nothing, just open land." Hardison reported causing Eliot to frown in confusion.

"Then why bring her out here?" Parker voiced the question he was asking himself.

"A trap?" Hardison piped up his eyes going wide. "A trap to get us out here?"

"I don't know Hardison, but we have to find out. Just be ready for anything ok." Eliot said as he slowed the car down as they approached the location of the signal.

"Right here Eliot, we're right on top of the signal." Hardison said as they pulled off the road. There was nothing there, not a car, not a person, nothing.

"What the hell Hardison?" Eliot said as he climbed out of the car ready for anything to happen.

"Over here." Parker shouted from the other side of the car. She was pointing to the ground on which lay a note and an earbud. Bending down she picked both up and read the note out loud.

"_Oh dear Eliot, you lost another team member…now I know why you always worked alone."_

"He's got Sophie…" Parker said softly.

"Yeah he's got Sophie and we don't have an idea where he's got her." Eliot said his voice dark and hard. He was angry with himself for letting Sophie get out without him noticing. He was angry with himself for not killing Moreau two years ago. He was just angry and very, very scared. He looked over at Hardison and held up the earbud.

"Can you do anything with this?" He asked the Hacker.

Hardison looked at him and took the earbud. "I don't know man…I mean it has a GPS but it's not like a car's GPS…I don't know." He looked at both his friends and saw the anguish on both of their faces. "If we get back to the house I can try…but…"

"Good enough." Eliot said quickly and motioned for them to get back into the car. He had complete faith in Hardison, he was a genius when it came to tech stuff, if anybody could find a way to get the information from the earbud he could.

All three of them climbed back into the car and Eliot turned it around and headed back towards the city. Once they arrived back Hardison went straight to his computers and immersed himself in the task of trying to retrieve any and all information from the GPS tracker.

"Hardison…?" Eliot asked as he stood next to the Hacker thirty minutes later.

"Nothing…I can't get a history." Hardison said solemnly. He was distraught that he was not able to retrieve any information from the earbud.

"Ok…" Eliot said putting his hand on Hardisons shoulder. "Ok…so let's just do it the old fashioned way."

"Moreau found the earbud and sent us on a wild goose chase…he would try to lead us away from the area he was really in wouldn't he?" Parker said joining the three.

"Right…Hardison pulled up the area north of town." Eliot said. Hardison pulled up the maps of the area north of Portland. "Now we are looking for an isolated farmhouse or something equivalent." Eliot said.

Hardison worked on the computer. "There are four possibilities. All are on large tracts of land and are isolated from the road. Also they have large buildings on the property." Hardison said indicating the properties he was looking at.

"So we go from house to house?" Parker said.

"We have to be careful Parker…Moreau will be waiting for us, planning for us to arrive."

"We can be careful…but we are going right?" Parker insisted. She was not going to sit around and wait, no matter what Eliot said. She knew Moreau was dangerous, she knew he would probably be waiting for them. She did not care. They could handle him and anything that he threw at them. They were the best at what they did, Eliot was the best at what he did and besides they worked best when they were on the attack.

"Yeah, we are going." Eliot said softly looking at the Thief and seeing the determination on her face. He knew she would go with or without him, and if she went, Hardison would go. The time had passed for caution, it was time to go straight for Moreau head-on.

"Good." Hardison said his voice uncharacteristically hard. This was not his type of thing, this was not what he did, but if it was the only way to get Nate and Sophie back, he was in.

"Hardison we need as much detail as you can get on the four possibilities. The layout of the places. Where the buildings are and the area around the houses. We need to treat each one as if it was the right one." This is exactly what he did not want to happen, he did not want to hit Moreau head-on. This was going to be dangerous, and probably deadly. He was also worried about what they would find when they did find Moreau. Nate's condition was poor, that was clear, but Sophie. Moreau had her now for a couple of hours and Eliot was well aware of what damage he could cause in that time. The thought made him cringe inwardly.

"Ok…I got the info on all of the places." Hardison said as he stood from the computer."I also got a good little thermo imager so I will be able to tell you were everybody on the place is."

"Good…let's go." Eliot said.

**So do you think they are going to find Moreau? Do you think they will be able to get to Sophie and Nate? Was this Moreau's plan and will he be ready for them when they arrive? Will they walk straight into his hands? I know I keep on saying it but thank you all for your reviews and please keep them coming.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sophie sat staring at the door of the room waiting for Moreau to return. It had been hours since she had arrived and nobody had entered the room since she had been brought here. Like Nate she had been left in darkness. The room was windowless and Moreau had switched off the light when he had left. She knew this was a technique to confuse a person, to make them unaware of the passage of time and to keep them disorientated, not knowing exactly where they were. She heard the key turn in the lock and immediately stood ready for whatever happened when the door was opened.

Moreau opened the door and threw the light switch blinding Sophie momentarily with the brightness that bathed the room.

"Ms. Devereaux you will please come with me." He said and held his hand out to indicate that she should exit the door before him.

Sophie moved forward and walked through the door. She was met by two armed men who were pointing their rifles at her. She ignored them and turned to face Moreau.

"Keep walking." Moreau told her as he moved to her side and took her arm leading her out of the house again and towards the barn they were holding Nate in.

Sophie did not resist. She knew this was probably her time for torture, but at least she would see Nate again. Moreau led her to the door of the barn and one of his men opened the door and switched on the lights. They entered the room and Sophie immediately cast her eyes at the cage Nate was being held in. She saw him sitting propped up against the bars of the cage staring open eyed straight ahead. He made no move as they entered. He did not even acknowledge their presence. As they approached the cage Sophie knew something was terribly wrong. He looked dead and her heart stopped at the thought. He was pale and unmoving. She tried to pull away from Moreau and get to the cage but Moreau held her tight this time, preventing her from running to Nate. He walked her to a chair that was placed a little way away from the cage. She was forced into the chair her arms were stretched along the rests and put into the metal locks attached to them. Her feet were then also secured to the legs of the chair. Sophie did not offer any resistance to the men chaining her, her eyes were fixed on the figure of Nate who still had not moved or spoken since they had entered the room.

"It seems Mr. Ford has left us…" Moreau said as he too looked over at the man in the cage. "Pity…but still…" Moreau said turning to Sophie and enjoying the look of pure devastation at his words. "Oh no Ms. Devereaux, he is not dead." He said and watched as Sophie's expression changed from one of devastation to one of confusion.

"What do you mean…?" Sophie whispered looking up at Moreau.

"Have you ever heard of catatonic states…? Ah I see you have, well it seems Mr. Ford could just not handle what I did to you."

"You didn't do anything to me…" Sophie said looking back at Nate.

"Yet…" He said darkly. "But reality does not matter Ms. Devereaux only what he believed." Moreau explained to her. "You see he believes that I…had…you." He said slowly.

Sophie gasped slightly. Moreau had told Nate he had raped her.

"Yes…and then I explained to him that I would be handing you over to my men when I was done with you…"

"Oh Nate…" Sophie whispered.

"His reaction was priceless…" Moreau laughed. "My men found him like this. Here but not here…alive but dead...a challenge."

"What…what do you mean?" Sophie asked looking at Moreau again.

"Well Ms. Devereaux, I wonder if I could bring him out of that place he has gone to. I mean if he was to see you…punished...we may bring him out of his stupor…I have not done with him yet, and it would be a pity if he did not see the end coming." Moreau explained deadpan to her.

Moreau moved over to the cage and opened the gate. Indicating to his men to collect Nate he moved to one side as they entered. Two of them grabbed the man and dragged is slack form out of the cage and placed him on the table that was set up to the side, the men laid his body out then moved away.

"They do tell me that electric shock therapy applied liberally could also assist to snap him out of the stupor. Of course it could also kill him…we shall have to see."

"You said you wouldn't touch him again…"

"Oh Ms. Devereaux you knew that was a lie…did you really think that I would turn my attention solely to you?" Moreau asked as he moved to stand in front of the woman again blocking her view of Nate's prone body. "No…you and Parker and Eliot and Hardison…you are merely pawns and I will use you all to make him suffer. He has to pay for what he did to me." Moreau told her then laughed at her. "You must all die yes…but he must suffer, and I want him to watch you die, slowly and, forgive me, painfully, but it is him who did this to me and he is the one who must pay the highest price for that."

Moreau turned back to Nate and approached the table. He took the paddles that one of his men handed to him and moved to hover over Nate's torso. Before he could apply the paddles to Nate one of his men approached him and whispered in his ear. Moreau nodded and gave him instructions which sent all three of the men in the room moving out of the barn.

"It seems Ms. Devereaux that the rest of your little group has made an appearance, just as I expected. You will excuse me of course while I tend to our visitors."

Sophie watched as Moreau left the room and then cast her eyes back to the innate form of the man lying spread out on the table, still unmoving.

"Eliot's here Nate…they are here and they will get us out, just please hold on a little longer." She said softly. Nate did not react, he did not move and Sophie felt her eyes filling with tears as she stared at the Mastermind. Then she started talking to him telling him that Moreau had done nothing to her, that it was a trick. "I don't know if you can hear me Nate, but please, please don't give up, don't go so deep that you can never come back, please Nate…" She begged him before she stopped to listen to the gun fire that erupted outside, signaling the arrival of the rest of the team.

**Thanks again for all the reviews. I am very happy that I am able to keep up with my posts in such quick succession. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story as a whole so far. Your comments and thoughts and speculation is always welcome.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They were headed for the fourth and final possible place Hardison had found. The other three had checked out and as they drove towards the fourth location Eliot was going over how they were going to approach it. He was sure now that this was the place that Moreau was holding Nate and Sophie and he was also sure Moreau would be waiting for them. It had been too easy to find him, to convenient that the earbud had been left where it had with the note. Obviously Moreau was aware that the earbud could be tracked, something not everybody knew. He had drawn them south in order to let them know he was north. He had run them around but had ultimately wanted them to find him. Eliot knew that he wanted them to come straight at him. He would have the advantage in that way and Eliot and the others would have to take risks to get at him. His one advantage over Moreau is that he did not really know what Parker and Hardison were capable of, especially Parker. He also did not realize what any of them would be willing to do to get Nate and Sophie back and take their revenge. Eliot pulled the van up at the entrance to the house. They could see the house and thanks to Hardison they knew exactly what was waiting for them and, at least for now, where all the players were. Eliot had already taken out the three guards left at the first turn, three down and according to the heat signals at least ten to go, including Moreau.

"Ok guys you know what to do…"

"Yeah…" They replied in unison.

"Good. Now they are ready for us, we know that and our advantage is that they don't so we use that."

"We got it Eliot…let's just do this ok." Hardison said.

Eliot looked at the Hacker and the Thief, although Hardison looked nervous as hell, Parker was the epitome of calmness. She was a very dangerous woman who was capable of anything; he had always known that, she was maybe even more dangerous than he was. Moreau was going to learn that in the next few minutes. Her main advantage was that she could turn off her feelings and just get the job done. He waved a salute to them and drove off down the road. He was the distraction. Hardison and Parker watched him go and then the Hacker turned to his Thief.

"A kiss for luck…?" He said pulling her too him. She smiled and kissed him passionately then pulled away.

"I don't believe in luck Hardison…but I do like kissing you." She said as she pulled him close again.

"Ok girl lets go…" He said as they parted from each other again. "Parker…"

"You too." Parker said grabbing his hand briefly and then turning and disappearing towards the house. Hardison followed her figure as she made her way to the position they had agreed on and then he took off in the opposite direction.

Eliot drove slowly down the driveway to the house. He could feel the eyes on him and he could sense the guns pointed at him. This was not the first time he was walking straight into a deathtrap. He drove slowly and pulled the van up in front of the house. He did not turn the it off, instead he sat quietly waiting. For a few minutes time stopped. Moreau's men were confused. Why was the man stopped? They could only see Eliot in the car, where were the other two that should be with him? One of the men stood from his place behind a bush and started approaching the van. Still Eliot made no move, the van remained stationary. Another two rose and started moving towards him. Eliot saw them coming in his rear view mirror. It was almost time…Eliot reached over and pressed the button on the device that lay on the seat beside him. After he heard the countdown start, he ducked down and gunned the van. The approaching men immediately reacted. The first one started firing his weapon at the vehicle and the rest followed they swarmed forward firing non-stop at the van. Eliot released the brake on the vehicle and it sprang forward directly for the entrance to the house. He remained low in the van which was now being peppered by bullets some of them passing very close to him, he felt the burn of one as it grazed his side. Reaching over he timed his jump just as the van burst through the wall of the house and a few seconds later exploded into a ball of flames.

**Sorry a bit of a short chapter and a cliff hanger to boot. Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming. The next chapter is going to be action packed.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Parker watched as the van exploded and then moved forward towards rear house where the barn was. Hardison had determined that there were two heat signals in the barn and they were most likely those of Nate and Sophie. Eliot was the distraction and Hardison and herself were to get to the barn. Each of them were coming from opposite directions in order to allow for one of them running into trouble. Hardison too was making his way towards the barn using the chaos caused by the explosion and the gun fire as cover.

She moved slowly towards the barn. Breaking cover she sped up. She heard the shot first then felt the searing pain as the bullet passed through her shoulder throwing her forward and onto the ground. She fell on her stomach and lay still. Moreau's man came out from behind one of the trees and approached the Thief's body. He smiled down at her and moved his foot to turn her over. Just as his foot touched her she grabbed at it and pulled hard, throwing the man off balance causing him to crash to the ground. Instantly Parker was up and grabbed the rifle he was carrying, with all her strength she brought it round and the butt impacted with the man's face rendering him unconscious.

Hardison too moved slowly and carefully towards his destination. Suddenly he was confronted by a rifle wielding man who blocked his path.

"Going somewhere boy...?" The man smirked at him as Hardison came to a stop.

"Nowhere special...and I ain't you boy..." Hardison replied brining his hand around at lightning speed and jamming the tazer Parker had given him into the man's chest. The effect was immediate as the man doubled over in pain and then collapsed to the ground. Hardison looked down at him and then at the tazer. "Now I see why you like them..." He said to an absent Parker and then he continued on his way to the barn.

Eliot dove from the racing van and rolled as he hit the ground. The explosion rocked the building and sent a fire ball and a lot of debris branching out in all directions. Eliot continued rolling feeling the heat of the explosion as the hot air chased his body. His roll was stopped as the landed against the wall of the house and he lay still for a few seconds getting his bearings. There was a lot of noise and shouting but the gun fire had ceased. He heard Moreau's voice and his eyes narrowed with determination. He rose to his feet, careful to keep low and out of the sight of the people outside the building. None of them had yet ventured into the house. Moreau had dispatched two of his men to the barn to make sure that Parker and Hardison did not get there. Eliot did not worry about his two friends having faith in their abilities. His job was to take out the rest of the men and to make sure that Moreau was taken out of the picture forever. He moved out and eased himself into a position to see what was happening outside the semi destroyed house.

Moreau stood with his four remaining men telling them to get inside and find Eliot and kill him. They nodded and began converging on the house. Moreau watched them for a minute and then started moving off towards the barn. Eliot did not like guns, in fact he hated them, but he had used them and he determined that now was the time to use them again. Easing the handgun out of his holster he drew a deep breath and then stood straight up calling out to Moreau as he did. The four men immediately reacted turning to aim their weapons at the Hitter, one of them got off some shots, hitting Eliot in the left shoulder but that did not deter him, he fired four shots rang out and four figures dropped to the ground. Moreau saw what was happening and started to run towards the barn. If he could get to Ford, he would be able to have an edge on Eliot. Eliot moved with lightning speed as he turned toward Moreau. He could not allow the man to get to the barn. Taking aim he pulled the trigger and Moreau fell to the ground unmoving. He move forward to Moreau's body. He could see blood oozing from his head and smiled derisively. Then he unloaded the weapon and let it fall. Glancing around one more time he saw no more threats and quickly he made his way to the barn to join up with Parker and Hardison.

Eliot entered the barn to see his three team mates surrounding a metal table on which Nate's body was laid out. He moved quickly forward taking his place at their side. Nate remained unmoving, his eyes open and staring blankly out into space. For a brief horrifying moment Eliot thought the man was dead. He reached out and placed his hand on Nate's carotid artery to verify that he was not. Nate had a pulse, a weak one but a pulse none the less. The flutter of Nate's heartbeat under Eliot's fingers was however the only sign that he lived. Eliot looked up at Sophie his eyes questioning.

"Moreau...he told him that he had raped me and...and Nate just...he just..."

"He went somewhere in his mind..." Parker finished for her.

None of them asked what had happened outside, none of them cared, their only concern now was the Mastermind. They were so absorbed with Nate that they did not hear or see Moreau enter the building.

"Ah so much concern...it's really touching." Moreau's voice brought all of them around to face him. Moreau stood just inside the door holding his weapon on them he had a deep gash to his head where Eliot's bullet had struck him and he swayed slightly as he stood facing them. They moved forward as one, blocking Moreau's view of Nate, standing as a barrier between Moreau and their Mastermind. "You should really make sure somebody is dead Eliot...very sloppy of you." He continued moving further into the room but making sure that he was still a fair distance from the four, he was very aware of Eliot's capabilities.

Eliot said nothing. He knew Moreau was right, he should have checked that the bastard was dead. His body tensed ready for action as he gauged the distance between himself and Moreau. He would probably not make it to him before Moreau was able to pull the trigger, but he could block the shot and give the others time to get Moreau before he could rectify his aim. Eliot looked at Parker and his eyes told her what he was planning to do. Parker tensed ready for action.

"It's over Moreau...your men are dead and so will you be. You can maybe get one shot off before I get to you but that is all. Why don't you just walk out of here, we won't follow you." Eliot said softly ignoring the surprised gasps coming from the rest of his team. He wanted Moreau away from here, away from them, if that meant letting him go for now then so be it. This was his mess and he would clean it up, but his first priority was them and Nate.

"Oh but Eliot...one shot is all I need." Moreau smiled at him. "Are you ready to let her die...?" He asked gesturing at Sophie. "Do you think Ford would thank you for saving him but sacrificing her...?" Moreau cocked his head slightly to one side and smiled again. "Besides...Ford is no longer with us now is he..." Moreau laughed relishing the look of pure hate that come over Eliot's face. "Such loyalty...you never gave that to me Eliot...why?" Moreau asked his voice conveying genuine interest and even perhaps jealousy.

"Because you are not half the man he is...and you never will be." Eliot replied. "Because he deserves loyalty, and respect, you...well you were just somebody I worked for, and hated myself for doing it." He continued watching carefully as anger rose in Moreau causing his aim to waiver slightly and giving Eliot the gap he needed.

Eliot moved swiftly but not as quickly as another and the sound of the gun firing echoed through the building deafening all of them. Eliot stopped dead in his tracks as a blossom of red bloomed over Moreau's heart. His eyes were wide with surprise but they were not focused on any one of the four people before him, but on the man standing behind them.

Eliot turned to see Nate standing with his arm outstretched, Parker's gun pointed at Moreau. He swung his eyes back to Moreau as the man fell to his knees still keeping his eyes fixed on Nate. Moreau tried to lift his arm, to point his gun at the hated man who had just beaten him again, but he could not and with an agonizing grunt he fell forward hitting the ground with a dull thump, his gun clattering harmlessly out of his grasp. Nate watched as Moreau fell then dropped his arm letting the gun slide out of his hand. His knees buckled and he began to topple to the floor. He felt strong arms wrap around him preventing his body from hitting the concrete and then all went black again.

**Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you all enjoyed this action packed chapter. Please keep the reviews coming, they are, as always greatly appreciated.**

**Sorry a bit of a short chapter and a cliff hanger to boot. Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Nate came back to reality slowly. His mind was fuzzy and he could hear people speaking but their words were muffled as if he were underwater. He decided it would be best for him just to lie as he was until he had regained his senses. He knew Sophie was here with him and the others, he could sense their presence even if he could not see them. The voices became clearer. One was definitely Eliot, the other...Moreau. Nate felt his heart clench at the realization.

He moved his hand to try to position himself to get off of the table without making too much noise and it touched the cold metal barrel of the weapon Parker had put on the table when she was standing beside him. He wrapped his hand around the gun and slowly began to move himself, readying himself to intervene. He heard Eliot tell Moreau that he, Nate, was worth loyalty, worth respect. He heard the tenseness in Eliot's voice and knew that something was going to happen; something was going to go wrong. He pushed himself up from the table stifling his need to cry out in pain at the movement and stood shakily. All four of them stood before him facing Moreau. None of them, not even Moreau noticed him; they were too absorbed with each other. He looked at Eliot and saw that the Hitter was ready to strike. Lifting the gun he aimed straight for Moreau's heart, it was not an easy shot, he did not want to hit any of his people and although he felt shaky his hand was rock steady. Drawing a deep breath he saw out of the corner of his eye Eliot move, then without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

"Parker go check Moreau." Eliot said as he lifted Nate up and laid him back down on the metal table they had found him on. He was not about to make the same mistake twice. Parker did not hesitate and made her way over to Moreau's body.

"He's dead." She stated as she checked for signs of life and found none. The bullet had entered his chest on the left side. It must have pierced the heart killing him instantly. She took a moment to marvel at the fact that Nate was able to pull off the shot considering his condition and the fact that he had to effectively shoot through them to get to Moreau.

Eliot focused his attention on Nate. He was unconscious and his breathing was rapid and shallow. His heartbeat was rapid as well and his skin clammy. These were not good signs. The problem was he could nothing for him at the moment. They had to get him medical treatment and fast. He looked up as Parker returned to the table and saw the blood on her clothing. She had also been hit, along with himself. The only two that had escaped this ordeal without physical injury were Hardison and Sophie. He knew his wounds were not serious and by the look of Parker neither was hers. He could probably deal with them himself. Nate on the other hand needed serious medical attention.

"Hardison you and Parker go see if you can get us some transport." Eliot said. "And be careful out there, there might be some stragglers left." He called after them as they left.

"Sophie, we need to get him to a hospital." He said looking at the Grifter who was holding Nate's hand firmly.

"Yes we do, but he is going to attract a lot of attention in this state." Sophie agreed voicing the same concern Eliot was harboring.

"I know but we don't have a choice. Sophie…" Eliot said softly drawing the Grifter's eyes to him by the gravity of his voice. "We won't be able to stay with him…"

"I am not leaving him."

"Sophie, you know as well as I do that the first thing the hospital will do is call the cops. We can't afford to be around for that and you know it."

"Eliot…you can't just expect me to drop him off at the hospital and then leave." Sophie said incredulously.

"Look at me Sophie, I don't like it either but I have a bullet wound, Parker has a bullet wound and you know that there are going to be questions asked about Nate's condition. Now he has to get to a hospital. I think he may have serious lung damage…from the waterboarding…amongst other things, I can't fix that. But all of us getting held up by the police will not help him either. We can get him out as soon as we know the diagnosis. We'll get him out as soon as we can, but we need to leave him there." Eliot tried to reason with the Grifter.

"Eliot…"

"Ok we got a SUV outside waiting." Hardison said as he and Parker walked back to join the two standing beside Nate.

"Good…let's get Nate to a hospital then shall we…?" Eliot said reaching out and lifting Nate's unconscious form into his arms.

"Right…wait a hospital…we go to a hospital man and there are going to be questions." Hardison said as he followed Eliot and Sophie out of the barn and towards the waiting SUV.

"I know Hardison, that's why we are taking Nate to a hospital but we are not staying." Eliot said lifting Nate into the back of the vehicle and laying him on the back seat. Sophie had already moved to the other side and pulled Nate's limp form into the car and laid his head on her lap. Parker climbed in on the other side Nate's feet resting on her lap.

"What do you mean 'not staying'? You want us to just drop him off and leave?" Hardison asked amazed that Eliot would even think of doing something like that.

"That's right Hardison…now get in the car man." Eliot growled at the Hacker as he jumped in the driver's side. "We get Nate to the nearest hospital and then we get back to the house so that I can patch Parker and myself up." Eliot said as he started the car and pulled off making his way towards the exit onto the main road and towards Portland.

"I'm not leaving Nate." Parker said with finality in her voice.

"Parker, we are not leaving him, we will come and get him when it is safe to do so, safe for him and for us." Eliot said looking at the Thief through the rearview mirror.

"What if he…" Parker stopped short of saying what she was thinking and swallowed hard. "I am not leaving Nate." She said again adamantly.

"Yes you are…" A hoarse weak voice said. "Eliot's right…"

"Nate…Nate you're awake…" Sophie said looking down at him. His eyes were still closed but it had definitely been him that spoke. "We are not going to leave you Nate."

"Yes you are…you have to…please." Nate said opening his eyes with great effort to stare into the Grifter's. "You need to do what Eliot said…it's the only way." Nate wheezed his voice almost inaudible. It was taking a great effort for him to stay with them, but he needed to get them to agree to Eliot's arrangements.

"Nate…"

"Sophie…please, you need to keep them…safe…" He said and then he was out again, his head lolling to one side as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

"Nate…" Sophie called out softly but knew he was not with them again. She ran her hand through his dirty sweat matted hair and felt the tears slip down her cheeks.

"Ok…Eliot we do it your way…but God help you if something happens to him and I am not there..." She said her voice shaky as she contemplated the possibility of Nate not making it and her not being there for him.

"He's going to be fine Sophie…and in a few days or maybe even less, depending, we can get him out and bring him home." Eliot replied. "Hardison we are going to need to hack into the system so that we can monitor his progress. Parker, once we have you patched up you can get a camera into his room so that we can watch him…" Eliot continued. "Guys…Nate knows that this is the only way…and he is going to be fine."

Nobody answered Eliot. None of them liked what they were going to do. It felt like they were going to abandon Nate to his fates, even if they could monitor him. They all knew it was the way it had to be done, even Nate, but that did not mean they had to like it.

"Hardison, what alias you got for Nate?" Eliot asked the Hacker breaking the silence.

"Tom Baker…so if something…so Sophie can visit as his wife if need be." The Hacker replied.

"Good…Can you get into the hospital system?"

"Already in…and I got the cameras in emergency and all the other security cameras. They will have to do until we know where they are taking him and Parker can plant out own ones." Hardison said matter-of- factly. The moment Eliot had told them the plan he had been busy on his computer. He was not going to let Nate be one second alone without them knowing what was happening. "How we going to do this…?"

"We get to the hospital and get Nate into the hands of the doctors and then we slip off before they can ask too many questions." Eliot replied. "We won't leave until the doctors have him and we know he is in good hands…Sophie…"

"I said we will do it your way…his way…" Sophie said looking down at the unconscious man on her lap and running her hand gently down his face. "I just don't like it." That was the understatement of the decade she decided. But damn him he was right, both he and Eliot.

"None of us do Sophie…none of us do." Eliot said with a sigh.

They spent the rest of the short trip to the hospital in silence. Eliot went directly to the emergency entrance and pulled up in front of the door. He jumped out of the car and stared calling for medical assistance. Two doctors came running out with a nurse following them pushing a gurney.

"What's wrong…" The doctor asked looking at Eliot's blood soaked shirt and disheveled appearance.

"Not me doc…him." Eliot said as he pulled Nate out of the car and laid him gently onto the gurney.

The doctor looked down at his new patient and immediately saw that this one was in a very bad way, a lot worse than the man who had brought him in. The doctor immediately stared to examine Nate then ordered him moved into a trauma room and ordered a number of tests and spouted a lot of medical jargon before turning back to Eliot.

"Can you tell me what happened to him?" The doctor asked as he took in the scene of four very distraught looking people who stood staring after their disappearing friend.

"He was…tortured." Eliot said hesitantly. He had to tell the doctor the truth so that he could treat Nate properly. He then proceeded to tell the doctor what had most likely been done to Nate, drawing on his experience of when he worked for Moreau. He could hear the gasps from his teammates who listened to the litany of terrible punishment that could have and probably had been endured by Nate during his captivity. The doctor listened and as the list of possible things that this man had had inflicting upon him grew longer his face grew paler. "Please help him…" Eliot said when he had finished.

The doctor nodded and then looked at both Eliot and Parker noticing their wounds. He did not know what had happened to these people, but he knew the man they had brought in was in very bad shape. He did not have time to talk further to them he needed to get to this patient. He would worry about the rest later, including notifying the authorities. Before he left he made arrangements for the other two injured people in this odd little party to receive attention.

Eliot smiled at the doctor in appreciation although they were not going to take him up on his offer to go with his nurse to the other trauma. Then suddenly the doctor sprang into motion as the call came from the trauma room they had wheeled Nate into…

"Code Blue….get a crash cart in here…we are losing him…"

**Oh dear another cliff hanger… Thank you for the reviews of the previous chapter, I am so glad all of you enjoyed it so much. Please keep the reviews coming, they mean so much to me and make me want to update as quickly as I possibly can…**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The four of them rushed after the doctor following him in to the emergency room and to the door of the trauma room Nate had been taken into. They were stopped at the door by one of the nurses who told them to go wait in the waiting area and the doctor would be out as soon as he could to brief them. They could hear the chaos going on inside the room, the barked orders the charge of the paddles and the screaming alarms. Then the door shut and they heard nothing. None of them were willing to move too far away from the room so they stood together careful to stay out of the way and waited. Eliot saw them first. In fact he was probably the only one who noticed them. The two policemen were walking straight for them with another man who was not in uniform. Probably a detective Eliot reasoned. He glanced at the others and saw that their attention was fully focused on the trauma room. Eliot sighed and relaxed. Whatever happened was going to happen, he would not be able to get them out anyway even if he thought he could make them go.

"Officers…" Eliot acknowledged them as they came to a halt in front of the four Leverage team members.

"I am Detective Inspector Mullen PPD." The detective told Eliot.

Before Eliot could answer the door to the trauma room opened for a brief moment and a nurse came out, the sound was one Eliot would never forget in his life. It was the incessant, monotone wail of the heart machine indicating flat line…death. He caught the first few dreaded words that the attending doctor was saying and swallowed hard…

"Time of death…"

"That is you're friend in there?" The detective said noticing the slump in Eliot's shoulders as the door to the trauma room closed. "I am sorry…" He said not knowing what else to say. He took in the bloodied clothes of the man in front of him along with the dishevelled and dirty appearance of the others. The young blonde woman also had a bloodied shirt, an indication that she too had been injured during whatever had happened to these people.

Eliot did not respond to the detective apart from nodding at his question. He knew what was coming next and was not sure what he was going to do. He looked at Sophie; she appeared to be frozen in place staring at the door of the trauma room that had just closed. Hardison was holding Parker who also appeared not to notice anything, least of all the police.

"It appears you and the young lady…" He motioned towards Parker… "Also need some medical attention. I think you should all come with me"

Eliot tensed ready for anything. But as the police approached the two women they did nothing but allow themselves to be steered towards the trauma room adjacent to the one Nate was in. Eliot realised they were in shock. Nate was dead and nothing else was getting through to them except that sickening reality. It was not that Eliot felt Nate's loss any less keenly than they did. He felt helpless, weak, and impotent, the worst was that there was nothing he could do about it. He could not even vow revenge on the one who had taken Nate from them, Nate had gotten his own revenge. The only thing left was for Eliot to take care of the team, of Nate's team, Nate's family, he owed that to him. Eliot nodded at the policeman and took his place beside Sophie as they were led from the emergency room. Eliot manoeuvred Sophie over to one of the chairs in the room and almost forced her into the seat. Hardison did the same with Parker who also was not reacting to anything at all. Neither woman had tears in their eyes, neither said anything, and neither reacted to what was happening around them. Hardison he knew was also on the verge of emotional collapse, but the Hacker would not let himself go because he had Parker to look after, just as Eliot had the team.

"If you would wait here, I will have a doctor come to check you all out." The detective told him and then left the room to go and get a doctor he presumed. He saw the two policemen take a position on either side of the doorway as the door was closed.

A few minutes later a doctor made his appearance with a nurse in tow. He looked at the group and then fixed his eyes on Parker.

"Young lady, if you would come and get on the bed here please and let me take a look at you." He said as he indicated the second bed in the room. Parker made no response and no move to do as he requested.

Hardison stood and dragged Parker up with him. He led her to the bed and helped her get on giving her a gentle kiss to the forehead as he laid her down. The fact that Parker offered no resistance at all was a testament that everything was wrong in the little Thief's world. Hardison looked at the doctor and then moved away back to where Eliot and Sophie sat. The doctor nodded and drew the curtains around the bed blocking their view of Parker. After about thirty minutes the curtains were opened again and Hardison lifted Parker out of the bed and carried her to the one in the part of the room they were seated in. The doctor indicated that Eliot should take her place, which he did and the curtains were drawn again. An hour later found the group sitting in silence alone in the room.

"Moreau won…" Hardison said breaking the silence. Eliot looked at the Hacker and saw the total devastation on his face. Hardison was right, Moreau had won.

"Nate's dead…" Parker whispered from her place on the bed Hardison had put her on. Her voice was small and she looked like a lost child. "Nate's dead…" She repeated as if she was trying to make herself understand the concept and then the floodgates burst and her body was racked with deep heart-wrenching sobs as she kept repeating the phrase. Hardison could do nothing but hold her and watch as she came apart.

Sophie did not react. She had withdrawn into her own world trying to comprehend that the man she had loved for so long was no longer with her. She had not been with him when he died. She had not been able to say goodbye. She could not cry, she could not speak…she was numb. Eliot sat beside her his hand gently holding hers in quiet support. He was not sure how long they had been sitting like that, silent, each consumed with their own thoughts when the door to the room swung open and the detective walked in, this time accompanied by more than just two police officers.

"Mr Spencer, you and the rest need to come with me please." The detective said looking directly at the Hitter. His hand rested idly on his holster showing Eliot that he should not try anything, and that he knew exactly who they were.

Eliot merely looked at the man and then moved to stand up. He saw the policemen tense but ignored them. He was not going to try anything, least of all to escape, not with the team in the condition they were in currently. That would come later. He took Sophie's hand and pulled her up. Sophie looked up at him and for the first time he saw some form of life in her eyes as comprehension of what was happening hit her. She did not resist though, even in her current emotional state she knew that would be futile. The policemen cuffed all of them and then they were led out of the hospital to waiting cars outside. As they passed through the emergency room each of their eyes turned to the room Nate had been taken to, the room Nate had died in. It was quite now and the room was obviously empty, there was no indication of the event that had changed all of their lives irrevocably only a few hours previously. Hardison and Parker were placed in the first car and Sophie and Eliot in the second. They were driven to the precinct where they were placed together into a holding cell.

"Guys, I know this is hard but we have to get out of here before they take us to central booking and split us up." Eliot said softly to all of them. "Parker…" He said turning towards the Thief. "Parker…" He repeated a little more forcefully when he got no response from her.

"I heard you Eliot…" Parker said as she looked at the Hitter. She knew he was right and as much as she wanted to just curl up and shut out the world…actually no that was not true she wanted to run, to run far away from all this hurt and pain and emotional fallout she did not know how to deal with. But looking at the rest of the group she knew that was not an option. This was her family and she had to help them as much as she needed them to help her.

"Ok…we…"

"Hello Eliot…" A familiar voice cut him off brining him spinning around to face the person he knew would be standing there.

"Sterling…" Eliot said softly. He should have known the man would be contacted. The locals would have been notified that Interpol was looking for them and that James Sterling should be contacted.

"Here is the paperwork for their release into my custody." Sterling told the detective who had accompanied him into the holding area. The detective took the papers and read them, then nodded to the guards who opened the cell and started to cuff the four occupants ready for transport.

"That won't be necessary." Sterling said and after getting the nod from the detective the guard removed the cuffs already on Hardison and then retreated out of the cell.

"I hope you know what you are doing." The detective said turning to Sterling. He had read the rap sheets on these four and they made for some interesting reading, although a lot of it had not been in there he was sure.

James Sterling did not bother replying. He turned to the four waiting people and indicated with his head that they should walk in front of him. "Shall we…?"

Eliot and the others moved along in front of Sterling and out of the precinct. Stirling had a big black SUV standing outside and he made his way over and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Get in…" He told them. Hardison, Parker and Sophie climbed into the back of the vehicle and Eliot sat up front with Sterling. Eliot was well aware that they were being carefully watched by the policemen and had determined that making a break for it then would be stupid. Besides, Sterling was alone and he knew they could get away whenever they wanted to. Something was going on and he wanted to know what.

Sterling waited for all of them to get in and then started the car and pulled out into traffic. He had never seen them like this before. So subdued, even Eliot seemed off…he knew why of course. Nate and what had happened to him. The happenings at the farmhouse outside of Portland had immediately grabbed his attention. When one of the victims was named as one Damien Moreau he was doubly intrigued and was on his way to Portland when he got the call that the local PD had Eliot Spencer, Sophie Devereaux, Alec Hardison and Parker in custody. He noticed then that Nathan Fords name was not on that list. After making some enquires he had gone directly to the Police Station to collect the four of them.

"Where are you taking us Sterling..?" Eliot asked sotto voice.

"Where you need to go..." Sterling said rather cryptically and sped up.

Eliot looked out the window and realised that they were headed back to the hospital. Was Sterling taking them to the morgue so that they could see Nate… to say goodbye. If he was then he was willing to let some of his animosity towards the man fade. He knew Sophie needed it, hell they all did. They pulled up at the rear entrance to the hospital they had left only an hour or so ago and Sterling got out followed by the rest of them.

"Come on…" He told them and walked into the building with them in tow.

Sterling made his way to a bank of elevators and motioned that they should all get in. Eliot was not expecting the elevator to go up, but that is what it was doing. Sterling had pressed the button for the third floor and Eliot's brows knotted in confusion. The morgue was generally in the basement of hospitals wasn't it? They all exited the elevator and approached a room guarded by two plain clothed policemen.

"I'll wait outside…" Sterling told Eliot as he stopped short of the door and nodded to the policemen indicating that the group was allowed to enter.

Eliot just stared at the man for a minute and then realised what was happening. Quickly he opened the door revealing a small white room and a bed surrounded by banks of monitors that indicated the person lying in it was still alive. Alive…Nate was alive.

**Thank you all so much for your reviews. So Nate is still alive but obviously not in a very good way. Sorry if I gave you all heart attacks at the start of the chapter **** Please let me know what you thought. All reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

For a brief moment none of them moved. Then Sophie rushed forward to Nate's bedside. He was pale and an oxygen mask covered his face. He looked so still and so frail. She reached out and touched his hand. It was cold and felt almost lifeless, but it was not, Nate was alive, he was here and she was here with him. She turned to face Sterling and for the first time she felt nothing but gratitude toward the man. She mouthed the words 'thank you' to him and then turned her attention back to Nate.

Sterling nodded back to her in response watching as she leaned in and over the wires that surrounded Nate's prone form and laid a gentle loving kiss to his forehead.

"He died…" Hardison said still trying to get his mind around the fact that Nate was alive.

"Yes he did Hardison…" Sterling smiled at the Hacker. "But apparently he was too damn stubborn to stay dead. He is still in critical condition but the doctor is optimistic about his chances of survival."

"Sterling…"

"Save it Spencer, he would have done the same if it was me. Besides I owe him…for Olivia." Sterling said holding up his hand and stopping the Hitter from thanking him or asking too many questions. "Now I'll leave you all alone. I'll have the doctor come in and catch you all up on his condition." Sterling said turning away from them. "Tell him when he wakes up that this is his one free pass…" He said over his shoulder as he exited the room. Eliot watched him go taking the two policemen who had been stationed outside Nate's room with him. He shook his head ruefully, now they owed Sterling one.

Hardison and Parker had taken up places opposite Sophie and Eliot took his place at the foot of the bed watching over all of them. He took a deep breath and let the reality sink in. Nate was alive, he was alive and they were going to get through this. Casting his eyes around the room he found that there were four chairs lined up against the wall. Sterling's doing? He did not know how Sterling had found out about this debacle, although he knew Sterling kept an eye on Nate and the team, just as Nate kept an eye on Sterling. Right now though, he did not care about the hows and whys, he was just grateful for the fact that Sterling had made an appearance and was in a position to help them. He moved off and retrieved one of the chairs carrying it around and placing it behind Sophie. She looked at the Hitter and smiled in thanks. She pulled the chair up close to the bed and then sat down her hand wrapped over Nate's.

A short while later the doctor came in and explained Nate's condition. He had gone into respiratory arrest and it had taken them quite a while to get him back, in fact they had already declared him dead when one of the nurses had noticed a flutter of a heartbeat. He had serious damage to his lungs. He had nerve damage from prolonged exposure to high voltage currents. He also had severe bruising on his chest from repeated resuscitations and the litany continued. He had bruising from frequent and severe beatings. He had broken ribs, his left wrist was severely sprained and his left shoulder had been repeatedly dislocated. Added to that his heart had been weakened and his kidneys and liver were also not in good shape. He was dehydrated and suffering from the aftereffects of alcohol withdrawal, and so the list of physical injuries went on. All in all he was a very lucky man to still be alive. The doctor emphasised that his recovery was going to be slow and probably difficult. He would have to take it very easy once released from the hospital which would most likely only be in a few weeks' time if everything went well. He was probably going to need intensive physiotherapy in order to help his lungs to heal properly. But the doctor also said that he believed that Nate would fully recover from all of his physical injuries. Then he looked at each of them, clearing his throat before he spoke again.

"I am aware that he was…that he was put through quite an ordeal… and I am afraid that the healing is going to be more difficult in regards the scars you will not be able to see. Dealing with the emotional and mental fallout from this is going to be the most difficult part of his recovery." The doctor told them. He said he would let them have the name of a really good psychiatrist who could help in this matter. The group listened intently to the doctor taking in all the damage that had been done physically and knowing that the mental and emotional damage was just as bad, if not worse, they just could not see it. Nate was going to be in for a lot more pain and suffering both mentally and physically, but they would be there for him, they would get him through it.

Once the doctor had left they stood in silence for a long while. Eventually Sophie turned to the Hitter.

"If we are going to be able to help him Eliot, we have to know what Moreau did to him. What kind of…what he went through." She said softly. She knew Eliot did not want to tell them, but they had to know. They had to know what kind of aftereffect all of it would have, what fallout Nate would have to deal with.

"I don't know what he did to Nate, Sophie I…." Eliot replied just as quietly.

"I know, but you know what he was likely to do, what he did to him that may not have left physical scars that we can draw assumptions from. If we are going to help him we have to know…what to expect…we have to be prepared." Sophie replied. She could see the way Eliot's eyes narrowed and his jaw hardened that this was not something he wanted to talk about. Not something he wanted to tell them, because it would mean they would know what he had done for Moreau in the past.

"Ok…but…"

"Don't be an idiot Eliot, we know you are not that man anymore, and it doesn't matter…we just need to help Nate." Parker interrupted. She was closer to Eliot than the rest and could read him better. She could see that he was scared of what they would think of him when he told them what Moreau did to his other captives.

"Parker's right man…it doesn't matter and it ain't going to change anything." Hardison said.

Eliot looked up at his friends and saw on their faces unconditional acceptance. It was something he was not used to. It was something he did not feel he deserved but he had it, from them he had it.

"Ok…I will tell you…everything. But not now…" Eliot said looking at Nate. "Let's just get through the next few days first Ok?"

"Ok." Sophie acquiesced. She smiled a reassuring smile at the Hitter and then turned her attention back to the unconscious man in the bed.

Eliot smiled back at her. He was still quite angry with himself, as far as he was concerned he had messed up royally and it could have cost all of them, including Nate his life. They spent the next few hours just sitting with Nate until the doctor came in and told them that Nate would be going for more tests and that they would take about an hour. They were told that they could wait in the waiting area and would be called as soon as the tests were done. It was decided that they would make their way home during the time. Eliot and Parker still had on their bloodied clothes and all of them needed a shower at least.

They all made their way back to the brewery; Sophie then informed them that she would be going home to shower and change. She would meet up with them at the hospital again in an hours' time. Eliot also decided that he would go to his place but Hardison and Parker went up to their crash pad at the back of the brewery.

Sophie walked into her apartment and dropped her keys on the dresser in the hallway. She made her way into her bathroom and quickly disrobed. She did not want to be gone from the hospital for too long, she wanted to be there when Nate woke up. She climbed into the shower and let the hot water wash over her. Suddenly she felt herself tearing up. The anxiety of the day, the utter despair of thinking she had lost Nate and then the overwhelming relief that she had not suddenly caught up to her and she felt the tears start to flow. She did not try to stop them and for the next few minutes she stood sobbing under the water letting the dirt and grime and all of her emotions wash out of her. By the end of the shower she felt cleansed in more than one way. Quickly dressing she grabbed her keys and left for the hospital.

They met up an hour later at the hospital. Nate still had the doctor with him and they waited impatiently outside for him to finish. When he did he told them he was happy with Nate's progress and that they could go in. He also gave them permission to stay the night with Nate if they wanted to. Sophie just smiled in thanks at the doctor. Even if he had not given permission she would have stayed, and by the look on the rest of their faces the doctor would have had a hard time stopping any of them from staying. They entered the room to find Nate exactly as they had left him. Sophie settled down into the chair beside him and Eliot at the foot of the bed. Parker and Hardison stood briefly beside the bed and then moved over to the chairs. It was going to be a long night and they thought they might as well get comfortable.

The hours passed and Sophie eventually drifted off to sleep her head resting on the bed beside Nate's hand which she unwaveringly clung to. Parker and Hardison sat wrapped up in each other on two of the chairs and Eliot stood where he was, at the foot of the bed keeping guard over his family. Eventually though even he felt the exhaustion from the day pull at him he pulled a chair to the side of the door where he could still keep an eye on all of them and then he too slowly drifted off.

**Thanks again for all of your reviews. I hope I explained Sterling's presence well enough in this chapter for all of those who were asking. So how do you think Nate's rehabilitation is going to go? How well or not do you think he is going to deal with the mental and emotional fallout? Please keep the reviews coming; I cannot tell you how much they mean to me and inspire me to continue writing.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Three days later Nate finally woke up. He did not manage to stay awake for longer than a few minutes, but that was long enough for him to verify that his team was there with him and they were all alive and safe. He had breathed a sigh of relieve as he drifted off again into unconsciousness.

Only a week later, Nate was sitting up in bed trying to convince his team that he was ready to go home. They however were having none of it, and nor was the doctor. Nate was recovering well from his injuries. His lungs were getting stronger by the day and he was breathing without the aid of oxygen. His muscles were still sore and he struggled to keep his balance sometimes. His shoulder was strapped up and would remain so for the next four weeks at least. His ribs were also strapped along with his sprained wrist. He also got out of breath quite easily and tired out quickly. But these things were minor and would take time to heal completely. The doctor had tried to get Nate to see somebody from their psychiatric unit during his stay but Nate had refused saying he did not need it. The doctor had told the team that Nate was not sleeping, and when he did, he was having vivid and obviously terrifying dreams, as reported to him by his nurses. Nate refused to let any one of the team stay through the night with him insisting that they needed to get some rest and telling them he also needed some 'alone' time as he put it. They had not talked about what had happened with Moreau, none of them wanting to broach the topic first. They had discussed the rescue and what led up to it, but nothing of what Nate had gone through. Sophie had also set his mind at ease about what Moreau had and had not done to her.

"I promise to take it easy ok…?" Nate said still trying to convince the team he should go home. He did not want to stay here any longer. Hospitals were not the best place for him, he hated them, hated the memories they brought back.

"No and that is final Ford." Sophie said putting her foot down. "You will stay right here until the doctor says you can go home and I will not hear anything more about it." Sophie was not willing to take any chances. She had almost lost Nate, she had thought she HAD lost Nate and she never wanted to have that feeling again. So if the doctor said he was not ready to go home, then he would not go home.

"Sophie…when did you get so damn bossy…" Nate mumbled.

Sophie smiled at him and placing her hand under his chin lifted his face up to hers. "I learned from the best you know…" She said and then leaned in to place a kiss on his lips.

"Ok you two why don't you get room man…" Hardison said as he walked into the room catching the lingering kiss.

"I'd love too but Sophie said I have to stay here." Nate replied smiling at the Grifter.

Hardison just rolled his eyes and laid the food he was carrying on the tray table. Parker and Eliot also came in carrying the rest of the lunch items. They spent the rest of the afternoon with Nate before the three youngest of the group took their leave promising to return in the morning. Sophie remained by Nate's side and when they were alone she climbed up on the bed and lay with her head on his chest.

"You know a doctor could walk in any time now…" Nate said running his hand gently threw her hair.

"Let them come…" She said as she wrapped her arm around his waist and closed her eyes.

"Nate…you know if you need to talk…about…about what happened…you know you can talk to me right? " She said hesitantly.

Nate did not respond, he just kept running his hand through her hair. The expression on his face however had darkened. He was never going to talk about what happened, least of all to Sophie. She did not need to know the details of what Moreau had put him through. None of them did. It was over and that was that. Yes, he had not been sleeping well, memories of those three months kept coming back in his dreams. He would deal with that on his own; they did not need to be burdened with it.

"Nate…"

"I heard you Sophie. I don't need to talk about it."

"Nate please…you do need to talk about it, you can't keep it all inside." Sophie said sitting up and looking at him.

"Sophie leave it be." He said in a voice she knew. It was the tone he used when she had tried to get him to open up to her many years ago, just after Sam had died. She knew better than to press him further now, so she smiled and kissed him then lay her head on his chest again.

They lay like that until they both drifted off into sleep. They had not been asleep for half an hour before Sophie was woken by Nate's voice and the fact that he was thrashing around on the bed, almost pushing her off it. He was dreaming, in his dream he was pleading, pleading with somebody to stop what they were doing. He was sweating profusely and his whole body shook as he squirmed in the bed.

"Nate…Nate wake-up…Nate…" Sophie said gently pushing on his shoulder trying to bring him out of the nightmare. Nate's eyes shot open and he stared at Sophie without recognition. All Sophie saw was fear in his blue eyes which were wide and swimming in tears. "Nate it's ok…you're safe…" She said soothingly to him ignoring the flinch from him as she reached up and ran her hand through his curls. "Shhhhh….it's ok Nate it's just me Sophie..." She continued to soothe him.

"Sophie…?" He said after a few seconds as he came fully out of his nightmare and heard her voice and felt her soothing touch.

"Yes Nate…it's me and you are safe…" Sophie said softly.

Nate closed his eyes and lay back resting his head against the pillow. This had been a particularly bad one. He ran his hand over his face feeling trying to get the images out of his mind. Sophie lay back down resting her head on his chest again. She did not want him to see the tears in her eyes. She needed to be strong, for him. She needed him to trust her to be strong for him. This was only the beginning and she was determined to be there for him until the end.

"I…I think you should go home." Nate said sitting up in the bed and making Sophie do the same. "I mean it's late and you need your rest Ms Devereaux." He said lightening the tone of his voice.

"I can stay Nate…" Sophie said softly. She wanted to stay, she wanted to help him, but she knew that she could not force it; he had to want her help.

"No…no I'm fine…just tired that's all." Nate said shaking his head. "Besides this bed is just not big enough for both of us…now if you would let me go home…" He smiled at her.

"Don't you even think about it Nate…it's not going to happen." She responded. She knew that he was going in this route to detract her from what had just happened.

"Fine then at least one of us should have the pleasure of sleeping in our own bed." Nate said pushing her gently off the bed. "I'll be fine Sophie…please, I need…" He could not tell her he needed to be alone, without worrying about having to worry about her, about them. "I just need to sleep that's all." He said wearily. He had not had a good nights' sleep since the doctor had taken away the sedatives. Oh what he would give for a glass of whiskey…no screw that he thought…a bottle of whiskey.

"Ok…but I'll be back in the morning." She said leaning in to capture his lips with hers. "I love you Nate…I will always be here for you and don't you forget that, no matter what if you need me, I am here." She said between small kisses.

"I know Sophie…" He said as he pulled her in for a deeper kiss. "Now go home will you." He said as he pulled away again. He watched her leave with a slight smile on his face. Once she was gone though is face darkened. "You don't need to know Sophie…you don't need to know." He said softly.

Nate lay back in the bed. This is ridiculous he thought. He did not want to be here anymore and why the hell should he stay, he had spent three months locked up and he was free now. He did not want to stay here and he would be damned if he was going to. He wanted to drink, he wanted to sleep. One would help him do the other, he knew that from experience. He waited and watched as the nurses moved through the ward doing their rounds before they turned the lights off and the hospital would fall quiet. Nate drifted in and out of sleep, jerking awake before the nightmares could really take hold of him. At around eleven he decided it was a good time to make his move. He sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed then tentatively stood up. Swaying slightly he made his way over to the cupboard where he collected his clothes. He had asked Parker to bring him some fresh clothes, in case he wanted to take a walk around the gardens; that was what he had told her anyway. None of the others would have done it he knew, but Parker would do almost anything Nate asked her to, no questions asked. He felt a little guilty using her like that but thank goodness he had or his plan would not work. He made his way into the bathroom and as quickly as he could without making any noise he changed. The simple effort of changing clothes left him breathless and he sat down on the edge of the bath to catch his breath. Once he felt steadier he moved to the door of the room and peeked out. The nurse was not at the duty bench, she must be with one of the other patients Nate thought. As quickly as he could he slipped out and down the hall and into the elevator which luckily was opened on his floor. Inside the elevator he leaned against the side and took deep breaths. He was really not very strong he had to admit to himself. When the elevator opened on the ground floor and walked directly for the entrance keeping as straight a posture as he could and trying not to draw any attention to himself, luckily the emergency room was quite busy and nobody took any notice of him. Once outside he hailed a cab and gave directions to his apartment. He knew that Sophie and the others were going to be mad as hell with him but he did not care. He was not a child and he did not need taking care of. All he needed was a good nights' sleep.

Entering his apartment he did not bother to turn the lights on. He liked the dark, it was comforting. Darkness represented safety and most of all peace. He made his way from memory to the kitchen and pulled out one of his favourite whiskeys from the cupboard. Then he made his way to the sofa and sat down heavily. He did not even bother with a glass he simply unscrewed the lid to the bottle and held it up to his lips, gulping down the fiery liquid. It tasted really good, but it also took his breath away and burned all the way down his throat. A familiar, comforting burn he thought taking another gulp. Sophie was going to be mad as hell, Eliot was going to blow a fuse and he did not care. He was entitled to go home and he needed nobody's permission to do so. He threw his head back taking another deep drink. Eventually after nearly finishing the bottle Nate fell sideways onto the sofa he sat on and into a deep, alcohol induced, dead sleep.

**Oh the team are going to be mad at Nate. What do you think their reaction will be when they discover he left the hospital? What do you think their reaction will be when they find him drunk? Thanks again for all the great reviews. Please keep them coming. **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Sophie was pulled out of her sleep by the incessant ringing of her phone. Groggily she reached for the offending device and put it too her ear without even looking at the caller ID.

"Yes…" Sophie said sleepily.

"Ms Devereaux this is Nurse Blanchet at Mercy General Hospital." The voice said.

Sophie was immediately wide awake. Nurse Blanchet…had something happened to Nate she thought in a panic.

"Nate…Mr Ford…is something wrong, what's happened?" Sophie gasped out.

"I am afraid Mr Ford has left the hospital Ms Devereaux. We are unable to locate him and have verified that he walked out at about 11 this evening. I am afraid Mr Ford did not take any of his medication with him and left without telling anybody where he was going. The doctor asked me to notify you and tell you that it is important that if you know where Mr Ford has gone, that you should urge him to return to the hospital." The nurse said in a bland voice.

Sophie sighed heavily. Thank God…she thought, Nate just left the hospital…then she realised what the nurse was saying.

"Thank you for letting me know…" Sophie said softly. Her mind was racing, where the hell had Nate gone at 11 at night? What the hell was the man thinking? Was he even thinking…?

"As I said Ms Devereaux, if you know where Mr Ford has gone, please urge him to return to the hospital. He was still on antibiotics and there will be a definite risk of infection should he not continue with the course. He also needs medical supervision for at least another week. The doctor would urge you to get him back to the hospital as soon as you can."

"Yes…yes of course…and thank you again for notifying me..." Sophie said just wanting to get off the phone and get hold of the rest of the team. They had to find Nate…and she was going kill him when she did. She said her goodbye to the nurse and hung up the phone, immediately dialling Eliot's number afterwards.

"Sophie…what's wrong?" Eliot answered after one ring with no indication of sleep in his voice even though it was two in the morning.

"Nate's gone…"

"What do you mean gone?"

"I mean the hospital just called and Nate walked out."

"What the hell…" Eliot responded. "Ok I'll be there in ten minutes." He said then hung up the phone.

Sophie then called Hardison and Parker notifying them of the situation and they also said they would be at her place as soon as they could. Half an hour later all four of them were trying to decide where to look for Nate first.

"He wouldn't go to a bar would he, not at that time at night?" Hardison asked.

"No…no I think he may have gone to his place." Eliot said.

"I think Eliot is right…why don't we start there." Sophie said and grabbed her bag as she walked out followed by the others.

They drove in silence to Nate's apartment. Once at the door Sophie opened it quickly with her key, nobody asked why she had one to Nate's apartment. The apartment was dark and silent and Sophie thought they had made a mistake, Nate had not come here…but if he had not come here, where the hell had he gone?

Hardison felt around and then finding the switch turned the lights on revealing a passed out Nate lying awkwardly on the sofa with a nearly empty bottle of whiskey on the floor where he had dropped it. Eliot moved forward swiftly bend down over Nate; he breathed a sigh of relief as he first made sure that Nate was still alive. Then he turned his body over and pulled him higher up on the sofa stretching him out so that he lay more comfortably. Then he reached down and picked up the almost empty bottle of whiskey that lay beside the sofa.

"He leaves the hospital and comes here to get drunk…without telling any one of us…what the hell was he thinking?" Sophie said her anger rising at Nate's actions.

"He was thinking that he needed to sleep and that the best way for him to do that without suffering the nightmares was to be drunk. It's what he does Sophie, it's what he knows." Eliot said walking into the kitchen and dropping the bottle into the bin.

"There are better ways…he could have told the doctor he needed something to help him sleep, he could have told me…he could have…"

"He could have done a lot of things…but he did this. Sophie..." Eliot said returning to the room and standing behind the sofa facing the Grifter. "We told him he had to stay in the hospital, a place that already had bad memories for him. He had just spent three months trapped in a place he could not leave. Top that with the fact that he could not sleep, that what happened to him at the hands of Moreau was haunting him and I am really not surprised, nor should you be…this is what Nate does, he drowns his emotions with alcohol…we should have seen this coming."

"Don't you defend him Eliot…he must have known what disappearing like that would do to us…" Sophie said although she had to admit that Eliot as right. Maybe they should have just let him come home in the first place.

"Yes, but I don't think he cared. He just wanted to take control of his own life…" Eliot countered. "I'm not defending him Sophie…I'm just saying that right now Nate probably feels helpless, hurt, lost and maybe even a little hopeless and depressed. He knows that we are all worried about him and that probably adds to his problems, he cares for all of us and the last thing he would want is to be a problem to us."

"So what are you saying…we let him drink himself in a stupor again, let him go back to being the man he was five years ago? Let him destroy himself?" Sophie asked the Hitter in a heated voice.

"No…I'm just saying I understand where he is right now."

"So what do we do?" Parker interrupted the two of them.

Both Sophie and Eliot looked at the thief. That was the million dollar question. What did they do? They could not allow Nate to continue drinking himself into oblivion, besides the fact that he was still very ill and the alcohol was not going to help him in any way whatsoever. Getting Nate back to the hospital was not going to be viable, all of them realised that.

"I don't know Parker…" Eliot replied. "I don't know."

"The nurse said the doctor instructed that Nate go back to the hospital, he still needs medical attention, he needs the antibiotics he was on. It's only been one week since he woke up. After what he went through that is not nearly long enough to recover physically, let alone mentally."

"Well we ain't going to get him back to the hospital, that's for sure." Hardison chipped in. He knew that no matter what they said or did, short of forcibly taking him back to the hospital and locking him in a room there, Nate was not returning to Mercy General.

"Why don't we just get the medicine he needs over here, we can have the doctor come here too can't we?" Parker said, that seemed the logical thing to do in her mind.

"That's an option Parker, but the bigger problem is Nate is drinking…and I don't think we are going to stop him from doing it again. Antibiotics are not going to work mixed with alcohol."

"Then we don't let him drink."

"Parker you and I know that that is not going to happen, if Nate wants to drink, he will and we all know that. The only way we are going to stop him is to lock him up in a room and keep him away from the booze. If we do that…well we will be doing more harm than the alcohol." Eliot said quietly. "Right now, the only thing Nate knows to do is to drown out the emotions, the memories and the nightmares with alcohol, it's what he has always done, it's what he knows will get him through the night. How do we stop him…?" Eliot shook his head sadly. "I don't know."

"So the question is still what do we do…?" Parker said realising that Eliot was right. There must be a way to help Nate though; they had to find a way to help him. "Why don't we let him drink in exchange for him letting us help him…I mean, we can regulate the drinking then can't we and we can keep him here and safe under a doctors' supervision…" Parker said surprising all of them with her logical and feasible idea.

"Will Nate go for that?" Hardison asked looking at Sophie for a response. She was the one who was closest to Nate and knew him best. She knew what he would and would not accept.

"I don't know Hardison…but it is worth a try." Sophie said looking at Nate. "There is nothing we can do anyway until he wakes up though."

"Right, I think it would be best just to leave him where he is for now." Eliot said. I'll take the other sofa.

Sophie nodded in agreement and walked over to the hall cupboard taking out a soft blanked which she laid over Nate. Then she pulled the overstuffed chair closer to the sofa and sat down ready to keep vigil over the sleeping man for the rest of the night. Hardison and Parker joined Eliot on the second sofa, settling in for the remainder of the night. Eliot did not argue with them, he just moved over making space for the two youngest members of the team. An hour later all of them baring Eliot were asleep.

"Dammit Nate, you have to let us help you, for your sake and ours." He said softly to the sleeping man. "You have to…" Eliot stood up and made his way to the kitchen. He was not going to sleep again that night. He had a feeling that he was not going to sleep much at all for the next while.

Nate woke up to find his apartment filled with his team. Sophie was curled up in the chair beside him. Parker lay with her head on Hardison's chest and the Hacker sat with his arm around her and his head resting on the back of the sofa. All three of them were asleep. He cast his eyes around the room and they came to rest on the figure of Eliot who stood watching him from the foot of the sofa.

"How do you feel?" Eliot asked the Mastermind as he met his eyes.

"Agh…" Nate groaned as he ran his hand over his face. He felt like shit if he were honest. He pushed himself up on the sofa careful not to wake Sophie. "How long have you lot been here?" He asked his voice hoarse. His throat was dry and he felt like something had slept in his mouth. He knew the feeling from previous mornings waking up after a night of drinking.

"Since the hospital called to tell Sophie you had left." Eliot replied honestly. He was careful to keep his tone light with no hint of accusation in it.

"Yeah…sorry about that." Nate said although his tone was not at all apologetic in nature. He pushed himself up from the sofa and almost fell forward as he did. Eliot made a move to assist him but he held up his hand. "I'm fine…" He told the Hitter and Eliot withdrew the offered aid. He knew better than to insist.

"I'm going to wash up…" Nate said as he made his way to his room.

"_Oh yeah…this was going to be easy…"_ Eliot thought to himself as he watched the Mastermind walk unsteadily to his room. Eliot noticed the obvious, at least to him, pain that Nate was in. He watched as Nate used the wall to keep himself walking in a straight line and to keep himself upright. "Damn stubborn man…" He mumbled as he watched as Nate closed the door behind him. He stood and stared at the door for a few minutes then turned to the kitchen. He might as well start breakfast he thought.

"Nate…" He heard Sophie's panicked voice as she woke to find Nate missing from the sofa.

"He's gone to clean up." Eliot said setting her mind at rest. "Want some tea?"

"Oh yes thank you Eliot…how long has he been up?" Sophie said pushing herself upright in the chair.

"Only a few minutes, I'm going to make some breakfast."

"Breakfast…good I'm starving." Hardison said alerting them that he was awake to.

"Me too…" Parker said stretching her arms out as she sat up.

"Ok." Eliot said opening the fridge to get the ingredients he would need.

"Should I go check on him?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

"Give him some time." Eliot said looking at the Grifter. "We don't want to crowd him…"

"Right…" Sophie replied but she did not take her eyes off the door. "How was he?"

"How is he normally after a heavy nights' drinking?" Eliot said raising his eyebrows.

Sophie sighed heavily shaking her head. That meant he was not in a good state. She got off the sofa and moved to the kitchen to help Eliot; she needed to do something to keep her mind of Nate. Thirty minutes or so later a freshly showered Nate emerged from his room and made his way to the kitchen to join them. He took out a coffee cup and poured himself some from the freshly brewed pot Eliot had made. He added a splash of whiskey from the bottle he retrieved from the cupboard fully expecting Sophie or Eliot to say something when he did, actually daring them to say something. When they didn't he poured another finger's worth into the cup and then took a seat at the table. Nate sipped his coffee, he was not going to apologise although he did feel a little guilty. He could sense the tension but nobody said anything. Hardison and Parker laid the table and Eliot served the food.

"How are you feeling?" Sophie ventured to ask as Eliot finished serving and took his seat at the table.

"Fine…" Nate replied keeping his eyes fixed on his plate of food. He was not hungry, in fact he felt a little queasy, not surprising considering his nights activities.

Sophie knew he was lying. She could see the pain he was in and she watched as he moved the food around on his plate tentatively taking a small bite every now and then. She had also noticed how out of breath he had been after walking the short distance to the kitchen and how unsteady he was on his feet. Although he tried to hide his discomfort, it was obvious to these people who knew him so very well. The other three at the table remained silent. None of them wanted to say something that could cause and argument.

"Maybe after breakfast we could get the doctor to come and see you…?" Sophie said holding her breath and waiting for Nate to react to her suggestion.

Nate looked up at the Grifter. Then he looked back down at his plate. "Fine…" He mumbled. He owed her that at least and she was not suggesting he go back to the hospital.

"Good…" Sophie said and deciding that she had gone as far as she could for the moment she continued to eat. The conversation around the table started up as Parker and Hardison and Eliot bantered about various things trying to be as normal as possible. Nate continued to pick at his food and sip his whiskey flavoured coffee. Despite the good natured banter the tension around the table was palpable.

"I'm not very hungry guys, but thanks for breakfast." Nate said pushing his plate backwards and leaning on the table stood up. "I'm a little tired. I'll be in my room." He said as he moved slowly towards his bedroom having to concentrate hard on keeping himself from falling.

Once Nate was in the room and the door was closed Sophie got onto the phone with the doctor organising for the man to come to Nate's apartment. The rest of them cleared the table and washed up. Then they all took as seat in the living room waiting for the doctor to arrive. Eliot looked around the group and wondered to himself how long Sophie would be able to continue walking on eggs around Nate before she confronted him and tried to force him to let them help him. He dreaded the confrontation, but he knew it was coming. Sophie was Sophie and Nate was Nate…it was bound to happen. All the three of them could do was watch and wait and be there to pick up the pieces once the showdown did come. He was damned if he would not find a way to get them all through this, if he didn't, Moreau had won in the end, and that was not in any way shape or form acceptable to him.

**Thanks for all the reviews. Please keep them coming they are as always very greatly appreciated. I am glad you are all still enjoying the story.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The doctor eventually arrived at Nate's apartment a little after twelve. Sophie let him in and gave him the rundown on what had happened the previous day and during the course of the morning. The doctor listened to the story and shook his head as he heard that Nate had been drinking, until he passed out.

"That is not good…he should not be drinking at all." The doctor said, although he could see he was preaching to the choir. "Where is he now, I would like to examine him."

"In his room…I'll take you." Sophie said and led the way to Nate's room. She knocked lightly on the door but got no response.

Turning the handle she opened the door calling out Nate's name as she entered. The room was dark despite the time of day. The curtains were drawn and there were no lights on. Nate lay on the bed curled into a ball and she could see even in the darkness that he was shivering and as she drew near she saw the sheen of sweat that covered his face. His shirt was also wet with perspiration and he was mumbling incoherently. He was obviously in the throes of one of his dreams. She reached out and touched his shoulder gently calling his name again. Nate did not respond and Sophie shook him a little harder. This time she did get a result. Nate jerked awake his eyes wide and full of anguish and fear. She could see he was disorientated and scared.

"Nate…it's alright…it's just me Sophie…" She said soothingly.

"Sophie…" He whispered as his eyes focused on her and he sat up in bed, wincing slightly at the movement.

"Yes…the doctor is here, he wants to examine you…" She told him. "Can I turn on the light?"

Nate nodded in response and closed his eyes as the room lit up. The light was sharp and it hurt his eyes. He took a minute to adjust once he opened his eyes again and focused on the doctor rather than Sophie. He did not like to see the concern that creased her face; he did not like being the cause of that concern.

"Ms Devereaux, I would like to have some time with Mr Ford if you don't mind." The doctor told the woman ushering her out of the door before turning back to Nate.

"That was a very stupid thing you did last evening Mr Ford." He said as he approached the bed. "You are in no condition to be out of the hospital, let alone out drinking." His voice was chiding and Nate did not appreciate it, however he held his tongue and said nothing as the doctor started his examination. Once he had finished the doctor pulled up a chair and sat beside his patient.

"I know you don't want to hear this Mr Ford, but you need to be back in the hospital. Your lungs are taking strain and so is your heart. I hate to think what the drinking has done to your already weak liver and kidneys as well. I need to be able to monitor you more closely and you need to be back on the intravenous antibiotics. You are very weak Mr Ford and you are placing yourself in a very precarious position at the moment." He said earnestly. He wanted to convey to the man that he was flirting with death and that he needed to get himself back to the hospital now.

"Sorry doc…I'm not going back there…just give me some medication for the pain and I'll take any regime of antibiotics you want to give me, but I am staying right here." Nate said not giving an inch to the doctor.

"Mr Ford, you were drinking last night, alcohol renders antibiotics useless, we need to get you into a controlled environment and you need to stop your reckless behaviour." The doctor said chastising Nate like a naughty child which brought a scowl to his patients face.

"I think you need to leave." Nate said quietly.

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation Mr Ford. If you do not do as I tell you, it is most likely that you will suffer a severe setback in your recovery, in fact I will go so far as to say you are putting yourself at risk of dying, no, you WILL die if you continue on this path." The doctor said hoping to scare Nate into doing what he wanted.

"I am not a child doctor, I understand exactly what you are saying and I would advise you again to leave." Nate said his voice low and hard.

"Very well if that is your attitude I will leave. I am afraid I will not be able to attend to you in my capacity as your medical practitioner any longer Mr Ford. If you do not want to follow my advice and you want to play with your life, then that is your choice. I will not however take responsibility for your medical treatment in the future if that is the case. I will not be responsible for your death."

"Fine…" Nate replied.

The doctor nodded and gathered his equipment up. He was angry and frustrated. Leaving a patient who was so desperately in need of medical attention was not in his makeup but he could not take responsibility for the man if he was determined to kill himself by being so reckless and was not going to take his advice.

"Oh and doctor…" Nate said waiting for the man to turn and face him. "I am giving you express instructions not to discuss my condition with anybody other than myself, that includes any psychological assessment you may have made during this consultation." Nate said coldly. "Is that clearly understood?"

The doctor stared at Nate for a moment and then nodded. "It is Mr Ford." He said then turned and left the room taking a deep breath as he prepared to face the four people waiting outside.

"Doctor…?" Sophie said standing up and approaching him as he closed the door behind him.

"Ms Devereaux, I am going to tell you exactly what I told Mr Ford and I can say no more than that on Mr Ford's instructions." The doctor said looking the woman in the eye and seeing the fear and concern in them. "I can no longer take responsibility for Mr Ford's medical care. I would advise you to seek alternative advice in that regard."

"What…" Parker said in a shocked voice. "You won't help him?" How could a doctor refuse to help Nate…that was just so very wrong in her mind, a doctor did not do that did he?

"That is correct. I will no longer take responsibility for his medical treatment. I am sorry." The doctor said noting the anguish in the young woman's voice and feeling very guilty. He had no choice though, not with the attitude his patient was taking. Then he turned back to Sophie.

"This is a supply of pain killers and a supply of antibiotics, however if he is drinking I would not advise you to give either of them to him. I am sorry for the way this has worked out, however if you do manage to get Mr Ford back to the hospital I would be ready to assist again." He said as he walked to the door. "Again, I am sorry that I am unable to help you." He said solemnly and then left closing the door behind him leaving four shocked and worried people staring after him.

"What the hell did Nate say to him…?" Hardison asked softly.

"I don't know, but I am going to find out." Sophie said turning and heading for Nate's room. Enough was enough, if Nate did not want to take care of himself, they would take care of him for him. She stopped at the door and drew a deep breath preparing herself for the confrontation she knew was about to happen.

Opening the door she stepped inside the room. It was once again dark with the light having been turned off. Nate sat in the bed with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Of course he had whiskey in the room, his secret stash…damn the man Sophie thought angrily. She flipped the light switch and noticed the visible flinch from Nate as the light flooded the room. She had noticed that before. There was something about the light that frightened Nate she thought briefly. Then she focused on the man himself.

"Just what the hell are you doing Nate? What did you say to him that he doesn't want to treat you anymore? Do you want to die…?" Sophie asked as she moved to his bedside and looked down at him.

"I am not doing anything Sophie, and it is his choice if he wants to treat me or not." Nate said softly, taking the wind out of her sails by not responding angrily to her outburst. He knew this was coming the minute the doctor left the room and he was just exhausted enough and in enough pain, both physically and mentally to not care.

Sophie watched him take another drink from the glass of whiskey he held before she snatched the bottle up from the table and grabbed the glass out of his hand. Nate let her take them without resisting however his brows knotted together and his mouth pulled tight. Eliot watched the scene and saw the signs; it was time to seek out the storm shelter because there was a category 5 hurricane coming. He could see by the look on the other two people in the rooms faces that they too knew the proverbial shit was about to hit the proverbial fan.

"If you can't or won't take care of yourself Nate, do not expect me to stand around and let you kill yourself." Sophie hissed at him handing the bottle and glass to Eliot who stood just behind her.

"I don't expect you to do anything Sophie…you are not my wife…" He drew a breath as his eyes met hers seeing the hurt he caused at his words but continuing on regardless. "You are not my mother and I think you had better just stay out of my business. Stop treating me like a child Sophie…I am not your child."

"Then stop behaving like one." Sophie said back to him the hurt plain in her voice.

"Don't overstep the mark Sophie…"

"Or what Nate…" Sophie asked challengingly waiting for the explosion to come, she was ready for it and she would win as she always did.

"I think you had better leave, all of you, right now." Nate said his voice deadly calm.

Eliot looked at the man and his heart clenched in fear. This was not the way he saw this going. Usually there would be a shouting match and Sophie and Nate would go at each other, but in the end, one of them would back down, usually Nate. This was not happening. He could see in Nate's eyes that he was done. That this was one step too far for him. If he had seen anger, if he had seen fear, or even just plain annoyance there, he would have felt better. He saw nothing. Nate's eyes were dead. Just as his voice held no emotion so his eyes held no life.

"Nate…" Sophie said suddenly backing off fear now the dominant tenor in her voice.

"Now Sophie…just leave, and take them with you. I want to be alone…" Nate said in a deadpan voice. He decided fighting was not going to be an option here; he would lose in the end. He also knew Sophie was apt to play the 'agree with me or I am leaving' card but now he had beaten her to the punch.

"I don't think that is a good idea. I think I will stay right here…" Sophie said defiantly as the voice inside her head was screaming at her that something was so terribly, terribly wrong. She was not leaving him no matter what, it was what he wanted and she was afraid of why he wanted it. She saw the same thing as Eliot and it scared her silly. This was not Nate. The fight had gone out of him and Nate never stopped fighting.

"Fine…just get out of my room…" He said resignedly. "Leave the bottle." He finished looking directly at Eliot.

Eliot looked at Nate and saw the challenge in his eyes, at least that was something. He decided then that if Nate was not going to react to Sophie maybe he would to Eliot.

"I…don't…think…so." He said keeping his eyes locked on Nate's.

"Why not…?" Nate asked softly. "You said it yourself Eliot…'you ain't my daddy'" Nate said seeing immediately that Eliot remembered those words uttered so many years ago in a hotel in Miami and watching the Hitters face flush with the memory, especially of the words that followed them. "So just leave the bottle and get the hell out of my room, and preferably my apartment." Nate finished, the implication in his voice though, was get out of his life too.

Nate was tired. He just wanted this all to end. He wanted to stop seeing their pity and their concern and their worry. He wanted to stop feeling all together. He had been here before, with Sam's death, he just did not think he had the strength to go through it all again. He would rather not, the fight, the will to fight, had abandoned him and he was not willing to even try and get it back. But he could not look at them and still give up, he needed them to go, he needed to push them until they did go. Nate had never been afraid of dying, he was afraid of losing and that he had not done. Moreau was done, finished and the team was safe from harm. He had made sure of that. Now, was it too much for him to ask that he be left in peace to drown the pain that consumed him? Did he not deserve some peace? He stared back into his Hitters blazing eyes as he thought about this, as he reasoned with himself, convincing himself that what he was doing was right. Maybe he was doing the wrong thing, but in his mind it was for the right reason, he wanted oblivion, and they were certainly not going to allow him to find that.

Eliot stared at the man and then slammed the bottle down on the side table. "Go to hell…" Eliot said heatedly. He was utterly at a loss for words; he was at a loss as to what to do. He felt helpless and frustrated; he did not know how to deal with this situation. Nate was not fighting, he was not doing anything. The frustration at the situation was too much for Eliot as he slammed the bottle down and stalked out the room.

A minute later he was followed by a dumb struck Parker and Hardison neither of whom was sure what had just happened. Sophie was the last to turn and go and she caught Nate's parting words.

"I'm already there…"

**Thank you to all of you who take the time and effort to leave me your reviews. I am always so motivated to continue with the story when I get your feedback and your encouragement. Please let me know what you thought about this chapter. I look forward to reading your comments on the chapter and speculation as to what might happen in future chapters.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sophie stopped short as she heard Nate's words. Tears pricked at her eyes but she did not turn around. Instead she reached out and switched off the light plunging the room back into darkness and then left closing the door behind her. Nate sat on the bed staring after them. He noticed Sophie hesitate briefly and half expected her to turn around and try to talk to him again. But she did not; instead she reached out and turned off the light before leaving. He wondered if she knew how much that meant to him, of course she didn't he chastised himself, how could she? He smiled sadly to himself and then downed the full glass of whiskey he held before refilling the glass.

"Dammit…" Eliot said as he threw himself onto one of the chairs in Nate's living room. He was angry with himself for getting angry, for losing it with Nate it was not what he wanted to do. The man knew exactly which buttons to press and how to get Eliot to react the way he wanted him too. He shook his head cursing himself for a fool.

"What now?" Sophie asked following them all into the room and taking a seat on the sofa.

Eliot looked at her and sighed heavily. They were all looking to him as to how to deal with Nate. After all he was the one who had lived in that world, torturing and being tortured was part of his life back then. It was a part of his life he did not like to revisit and it was one he was being forced to examine closely.

"He's in a dark hole now Sophie, one he doesn't think he can get out of. The more he drinks the less he is going to be able to get out of it; he is just going to fall deeper and deeper. Not only is it going to hurt him mentally, it is going to hurt him physically. He is going to get worse"

"Then we have to stop him from drinking." Parker said.

"It's not that simple Parker. How can you tell a drowning man not to grab onto the one lifeboat he sees?"

"You give him another lifeboat, another option…" Hardison said following Eliot's metaphor.

"But what…? I mean alcohol has been what has gotten him through some of his darkest days, at least in his mind it is. Let's face it guys, he is an alcoholic and when the going gets too much for him it is the first thing he would turn too, like now." Eliot replied.

"Eliot, why is he afraid of the light…I mean I get that he was kept in the dark most of the time, but he seems to…well…I don't know how to explain it." Sophie said looking earnestly at the Hitter.

"Moreau kept him in the dark most of the time yes…but Sophie, when he was going to…work…on him; he made sure that the place was brightly lit. The fact that the light was switched on was a…a forbearer of the…of things to come."

"So it was psychological torture…make him afraid before you even start." Hardison said.

"Yeah…Moreau always said the anticipation was the best kind of…" Eliot sighed and closed his eyes for a minute. He had done this, he had learned this trade under Moreau, Eliot had seen the fear and trepidation in the eyes of his victims on countless occasions. Many times just the switching on of the lights could cause the victims to start begging for them not to do anything, they would do anything Moreau wanted, that they would talk, or give him anything he wanted from them. Eliot shook his head sadly, he should have remembered that. "I'm sorry guys…I should have realised…"

"Eliot we know this is hard for you too…just remember, that is not who you are now, what happened back then is done, you are a different man. But we do need you to help us now, Nate needs you, because we don't know, we don't know what he went through, I mean you have told us the things Moreau liked to do, but, but you are the only one who can know what effect those…those…things…that he did, had on his victims."

Eliot looked at the Grifter. He had told them everything, every single type of torture Moreau had enjoyed inflicting on his enemies. During that terrible session only a few days ago he had not once seen recrimination on their faces, not once did he see disgust or loathing or, the thing he dreaded most; fear. The physical part was easy, at least he could tell them clearly what it was Moreau did to his enemies and fixing that should also be easy, if Nate would just let them. But the physiological part... Each person was different. Some of Moreau's enemies that had been subject to his wrath had not survived one day in Moreau's hands, some had gone insane long before Moreau put them out of their misery. Each one reacted differently. Nate had survived three months of physical and emotional hell, and when all was said and done he had beaten Moreau. He had fought through everything, he had fought to survive at the hospital, but now, now the fight was gone…they needed Nate to get that fight back, that desire, that will to survive.

"I don't know Sophie…I put people in those holes…I didn't help them out." Eliot said dejectedly to the woman.

"He didn't have alcohol then…" Parker said out of the blue making them all turn towards the thief. "When Moreau had him, when he was in the hospital, he didn't have alcohol then, but he fought none the less, he fought to survive and he did…"

"Parkers right man…" Hardison said.

"So what lifeboat was he reaching for then Eliot?" Parker asked the Hitter keeping to the metaphor he had started.

"US..!" Sophie suddenly said as she realised the significance of what Parker had said. "We were his lifeboat…we were what he was fighting for, surviving for, as long as he knew we were in danger, he was willing to endure anything to try to get us out of it. At the hospital he fought because he needed to know that we were safe. Once he did, once he was freed of that obligation; that was when he started to…to lose the battle."

"Now he is trying to push us all away…." Hardison said. Sophie was right. Nate had fought for them, to keep them safe. So why would he stop now, sure the threat was gone, but he must know they needed him, that they cared for him.

"Hardison's right…" Eliot said. "Nate is trying to push us away, get us out of his life. Why?" Eliot asked looking at each of them in turn. They all waited for the Hitter to continue his train of thought. "I'll tell you why, because he wants to give up. To let go and stop fighting, to just disappear into a bottle, and then altogether, but he can't. Not as long as we are around. He did the same to Maggie after Sam, he pushed and pushed and drank and drank until she left."

"You're right Eliot. He did not have time to think about what was really happening to him, he was concentrating on how he was going to be able to save us…I mean look what happened when he thought Moreau had…well you know…that almost killed him, but when we needed him, he fought to come out of it, to be able to protect us. He sees himself as responsible for us, for our safety, for our happiness. We are his family, and as much as he is the glue that holds us together, we are the glue that holds him together. Now it is over, we are safe, Moreau is gone. His mind is now consumed with the memories of the pain that was inflicted upon him, and the psychological scars he carries from the mental anguish, and all he wants is for it to stop. He no longer sees why he should fight, why he should endure the mental agonies he does when he thinks about it, when he dreams about it. The only thing I think he wants now is…" Sophie did not want to say what she thought Nate wanted; it was too hard to even contemplate.

"We're still here Sophie…" Parker said softly.

"Yes Parker we are. That is why he wants us gone…he wants us to give up on him so that he can give up on himself. He is already halfway there. He knows what buttons to press for us to react in certain ways and he is going to use that to push us away."

"So we don't go anywhere…" Parker said determinedly.

"No we are not going anywhere and if he thinks we are he has another thing coming…if he wants to kill himself with alcohol and not taking doctors' advice, well he is going to have to do it in front of us." Sophie agreed.

"We still need him to open up Sophie…he needs to talk about it. He also desperately needs medical attention, he is breathing more difficultly and you can see the pain is getting worse. It's not going to help us being here, if we don't get him to help himself too…I mean he has to start wanting to get better, he has to want to move forward, to survive." Eliot said.

He was satisfied that as long as they were around Nate would not do anything stupid, but the fact was Nate was dying, he was killing himself by not getting the medical attention he needed and by drinking. He was afraid that one day Nate would drink himself to sleep and just never wake up, and that day was not far away if Nate continued on as he was. Alcohol was a depressant as well, so the more he drank, the more depressed he was going to get and the more difficult it was going to be to climb out of that proverbial hole he was in. He knew they were not going to get him back into a hospital, and they were probably not going to be able to stop him from drinking completely, but they had to do something. At least they were starting to understand what they were dealing with, but they had to come up with a plan of how to deal with it too. Nate had to start talking, he had to let it out, because until then, until Nate stopped internalising the fear and the horror and the pain, he would never be able to let it go. The team had given him a reason to live, to move forward once before, he was sure they could do it again. Eliot had been in a dark black hole like that, ok not exactly the same, it was a hole he had gotten into by choices he had made, but it was Nate who had help him out of it, helped him to see he could be a better man, now it was his turn to return the favour.

Suddenly Eliot stood and walked to the kitchen. There he grabbed himself and glass and then strode purposefully towards Nate's room. The others watched him go wondering what he was doing. Eliot stopped in front of the door and steeled himself for what was to come then opened the door without knocking and entered closing the door behind him. He entered the room finding it in complete darkness again. He did not turn the light on; he just stood for a while and let his eyes grow used to the darkness. Then he moved over to the bed, taking one of the chairs with him. He placed it beside the bed and sat down. Nate had watched him enter. He had said nothing though, just continued to sit propped up in the bed and drinking his whiskey. Eliot could see the man was well on his way to being completely drunk again. He scowled in the darkness and took his seat. Pouring himself a glass of whiskey he sat back and downed the fiery liquid quickly.

"Nate we have to talk; and I ain't leaving this room until we do." He said taking the bottle and pouring himself another drink.

**How do you think Eliot's talk is going to go? Do you think he is going to get through to Nate? Will Nate open up to him? Thank you all so much for your reviews, they are always so greatly appreciated.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Nate just stared at the Hitter. Then he shook his head and was about to say something when Eliot immediately stopped him.

"Forget it Nate. I don't care what you say, you can tell me 'I ain't your daddy' or to 'go skip rope' or 'we are not friends' or anything else you can think of that might tick me off, but it ain't going to work. You know why? Because I am your friend Nate, I am your family and no matter what you say to convince yourself otherwise, that is the fact of the matter."

Nate smiled slightly despite himself as he listened to his Hitter. Eliot knew him too well, they all did for that matter, but Eliot and Sophie knew him far better than anybody else in the world did. Silence settled between the two men as they both sipped their whiskey.

"Did the doctor leave any pain pills for me?" Nate asked softly breaking the silence.

"Yeah…but you ain't getting them, not whilst you're drinking." Eliot replied.

"My life Eliot…"

"Right and I'm willing to let you live it. Just not willing to assist you in ending it..."

Again silence. Eliot was happy to sit there with Nate in the silence. He was not going to take the lead and he would sit here for as long as it took. Nate reached over and topped Eliot's glass up then filled his own again. An hour passed with neither man saying anything before Nate eventually spoke.

"I'm not going back to the hospital."

"I know."

"What do you want from me Eliot?"

"Nothing man…I'm just sitting here with my friend having a drink."

Nate looked over at the Hitter. His eyes were accustomed to the dark and he could see the man clearly. This was not what he expected. He expected Eliot to come in here guns blazing telling him he better shape up and get his act together etc…Once again silence settled over the them. The only sound being Nate's rather laboured breathing.

"You going to sit here all day drinking my whiskey?" Nate asked the Hitter as he poured himself another drink and topped up Eliot's glass.

"You mind…?" Eliot asked waiting for Nate to say he did and asking him to leave.

"No." Nate said, surprising even himself with that. He was comfortable with Eliot being there. Actually he liked knowing that the Hitter was there it somehow made him feel at ease.

"You don't sound too good there Nate…" Eliot said listening to the man's wheezing.

"Don't feel too good either." Nate admitted.

"Maybe you should do something about that."

"You left the light off." Nate said changing the direction of the conversation.

"Yeah…"

"Thank you." Nate said softly.

"No problem Nate. Just remember I already know; I know what he could have or did do to you, so if you want to talk…"

"I don't"

"Not now maybe…but like I said I ain't going anywhere." Eliot sat back and drew a breath before continuing. "I know a doctor…"

"I'm sure."

"A good one, he can see you right here. You need a new one since you pissed the other one off."

"I didn't piss him off, I just informed him of the facts."

"Whatever…" Eliot said rolling his eyes. "I can have him over here today still."

"Eliot…"

"Just saying man…Listen to yourself, you can barely breathe and don't tell me you are not in pain." Eliot said before Nate could continue. "I'm not asking you to go back to the hospital. I'm just asking that you let me get you some medical attention."

"Fine…" Nate acquiesced too tired to argue with his Hitter. Besides he thought, it couldn't hurt and maybe the damned doctor would give him something to ease the ache in his body.

Nate was tired, so very, very tired, but he fought sleep with dogged determination. He paid little attention to Eliot who had moved to the other side of the room as he made his call to his friend.

"He'll be here in an hour." Eliot said as he took his seat again after finishing with the doctor.

The hour passed quickly with not much being said between the two men. Sophie knocked on the door and announced the arrival of the doctor and then opened the door to let him in. Eliot met him at the door and whispered something to him before leaving. The doctor stood looking at Nate. He had not turned the light on, Eliot having told him the full situation and what Nate had endured the last three months.

"Would you mind Mr Ford if I turned the light on in order to examine you properly?" He asked.

"Go ahead." Nate said. The doctor flipped the light switch noticing that despite Nate knowing it was coming, the man still flinched and closed his eyes.

"Eliot tells me you are having trouble breathing."

"A little..." Nate said the wheeze in his voice evident.

"Right, can you remove your shirt please?"

Nate did as he was bid. Removing the shirt he revealed to the doctor some of the scars Moreau had left on him. He was battered and bruised with cuts all over his upper torso.

"Moreau really did a number on you didn't he?" The doctor said as he started his examination.

The doctor spent the next half hour doing a full and complete examination of his patient. Then sat down in the chair Eliot had left by the side of the bed.

"Well Mr Ford you are not in very good physical shape. You're lungs are taking a lot of strain and I would like to put you back on oxygen to assist them. As for the rest of your injuries, I cannot tell without doing a full examination and running tests in a hospital…" The doctor held up his hand before Nate could make his protests. "I know you are not going to oblige me in that so I will make do with what I have. I believe you should recover quite well right here Mr Ford. I am going to ask that I may be allowed to give you an intravenous drip in order to administer antibiotics and some other drugs to help with the physical pain you are experiencing." The doctor said looking at Nate for his permission.

"Fine…"

"Good. Now as for the drinking…" the doctor said and Nate readied himself to end this entire thing right then. "I am not going to tell you that you may not have a drink. All I would ask is that you do not drink an entire bottle in one sitting. I will give you something to assist you with sleeping, It is a sedative and will also in all likelihood prevent you from dreaming too…although I cannot guarantee that." The doctor continued.

Nate's argument went out the window and he was left to just sit and stare at the doctor not knowing what to say.

"Do I have your permission to proceed Mr Ford?' the doctor asked hiding his smile as he saw the confusion and some frustration on his patients face. This was not the first time he had dealt with people who had spent months, sometimes years being tortured. He knew how to work with them, how to approach them. He was not only a doctor of medicine, but a highly skilled psychiatrist as well.

"Fine…" Nate said almost petulantly. There was nothing else he could say without seeming totally unreasonable. The man was not saying he could not drink, he was not saying he had to go back to the hospital, in fact he was being way too accommodating and pragmatic for Nate's liking.

"Good." The doctor said and opened the door to the room. "Eliot would you please bring the equipment I brought with me in here." He called out and then returned to Nate's side. Within minutes he had a intravenous line in Nate and had injected some medication into the saline drip he attached which had an immediate effect on his patient. The sedative the doctor had injected sent Nate into unconsciousness within minutes of being administered.

"He should be out for at least six hours Eliot." The doctor said as he made Nate comfortable on the bed. He attached another two bags to the drip one containing the antibiotic and another with morphine for the pain. He then attached the oxygen mask to Nate's face and opened the valve to the tank he had brought with him.

"The drug will not make him groggy at all. It is not your typical sedative. He should wake up feeling a lot more refreshed and clear headed. I am leaving a couple of doses of the stuff here. The morphine will ease the pain and I will also leave some additional drips of that along with the Saline. The antibiotics will work through over a period of eight hours. You will then have to replace the bag and repeat the dose. That should take care of all of his infections. I will return tomorrow to check on him. I suggest you keep him sedated until the courses of antibiotics are finished. He may not thank you for it but he will be a lot healthier." The doctor said as he gathered his belongings.

"What about the drinking." Sophie asked as she listened to the doctors' instructions.

"Well, I don't think you are going to stop him from drinking if what Eliot has told me is true. So let him drink, just not too much. As I said Eliot, keep him sedated for most of the time."

"He ain't going to like that man." Hardison said shaking his head.

"He may not like it young man but he will live…now you can chose which is more important, his happiness or his life." The doctor replied.

Hardison stared at the man, where the hell did Eliot get this guy?

"Thank you doc…" Eliot said as he walked the man to the door. After they had agreed that he would be back the next day at about the same time he left.

"Who is he?" Sophie asked as Eliot turned back to the group.

"An old friend. He worked for Moreau as well after being struck from the roll…" Eliot said.

"What…he was what…" Hardison said in disbelief. "He's not a doctor?"

"He is a doctor Hardison, a damned good one. He just…well let's just say that he did some morally questionable things in the past." Eliot told the Hacker.

"Eliot…" Sophie said alarm in her voice.

"Don't worry Sophie…he owes me, he'll take good care of Nate." Eliot reassured the woman. "I promise."

"You know he is going to kill us when he finds out we knocked him out?" Parker piped up.

"Yeah…well that's a chance I'm willing to take." Eliot said.

"So he'll be out for six hours…" Sophie said. "I think I'm going to get some sleep too. It's been a long day." She had been up since the hospital had called and it had also been emotionally draining.

"That's not a bad idea." Hardison agreed looking at Parker.

"Somebody should stay with Nate. In case…you know." The Thief said.

"I'll stay with him. I ain't tired anyway." Eliot offered.

They all agreed that Eliot would watch Nate and the rest would get some sleep. Before she went to bed Sophie slipped into Nate's room and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"It's going to be OK Nate…" She whispered to him and then smiled at Eliot in thanks before she retired to one of the spare rooms.

"She's right you know Nate…it's going to be OK, even if you can't see it now." He said as he made himself comfortable. Sitting back in the chair he closed his eyes and let himself relax completely without drifting into full sleep.

**Thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them. Please keep them coming. **


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Four hours later Sophie made her way back into Nate's room. She found Eliot still sitting slightly slumped in the chair beside the bed and Nate still out.

"Eliot…" She whispered.

"Yeah Sophie…he's still out."

"I can see." Sophie said her eyes resting on the man in the bed. "Why don't you go and get some rest, I'll stay here with him."

Eliot nodded and stood stretching the kinks out as he did. "OK…If he wakes up…"

"I'll call you to give him another dose." Sophie agreed to his unasked request. "Eliot…" She said as he turned to go. Eliot turned around to face her. "Thank you…" Eliot smiled at her and then turned and left her alone with Nate.

Sophie took her seat on the chair Eliot had vacated and reached out taking Nate's limp hand in hers. She could not help it and tears pricked at her eyes and then escaped to run down her cheeks. She loved this man with all her heart and the thought of what he was going through now was almost too much to bear. The thought of what he had gone through for all that time, the damage that was done both physically and mentally to him was incomprehensible. Had he not suffered enough in his life? Was life never going to be kind to him? She thought about the last five years she had spent with him. When she had found out that he had left IYS, she had lost her desire to continue on in her chosen profession. If he was not going to be chasing her, then why bother. It had long since stopped being about the money for her; it was about her encounters with him. She knew he enjoyed their encounters, that he sought her out in those years. Not that he would ever have cheated on Maggie, but there had been a connection between them from that first meeting. She had wept for him, and for his son that she had never met. She had tried to keep track of him after that but his life had spun so completely out of control. He was drinking heavily and spiralling downward at an alarmingly fast rate. Maggie had left him, or he had driven her away, not wanting her to have to witness his fall. She had feared he would take his own life then, but he hadn't. Somehow he had survived. She had lost track of him, she knew he was in LA but nothing else. She had moved to the US and tried to become a 'normal' citizen. Then came that fateful day five years ago, when he had walked back into her life, inviting her into his. There had been lots of road bumps along the way but eventually two years ago they had consummated their relationship. She smiled through the tears remembering that it was Moreau, and their need to take him down, that had eventually led to them finally uniting in the most intimate way. Now it was Moreau that was tearing him apart, and taking him away from her. She had never been happier in her life than she was now, with him, with the team, her family. But now, now she was in danger of losing it all. Losing him. She clutched his hand a little tighter and closed her eyes against the fear that gripped her heart. She would not lose him, she refused to give him up to the demons that were devouring him, she would help him fight them and together they would win. She would not lose him she vowed to herself. She sat there just holding his hand and rubbing it softly with her thumb as she watched over him.

She was not sure how long she had been there when he started to stir. Leaning forward she ran her hand through his hair and then placed it on his forehead. His eyes came open slowly and she could see he took a while to focus. He was in the twilight zone between awake and asleep. The sedatives had not quite worn off, but were not strong enough to hold him.

"Sophie…" She heard his muffled voice come through the oxygen mask that covered his mouth.

"I'm here Nate…everything is ok." She said as she placed a kiss on his forehead. She could feel his hand tighten around hers and she squeezed back reassuringly.

Nate stared at her, his incredibly blue eyes dulled by the drugs, both the sedative and the morphine. His hand held hers tight, as if he was holding on to reality through her. With his other hand he tried to remove the oxygen mask but she stilled his hand and told him it was there to help him and that he should not try to take it off. At her words he let his hand fall back to the bed and she could see the drug was pulling him back under. It would not be long though before he surfaced again. When he closed his eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness, she stood and kissed him gently again before leaving to get Eliot. She did not want to take the chance that he would fully wake and refuse medications again.

When Sophie returned to the room with Eliot Nate was once again awake. He had managed in the short amount of time to pull the oxygen mask from his face and was struggling to sit up.

"Nate just relax…please…" Sophie said moving swiftly to his side and placing a hand on his shoulder pushing him back down into the mattress. Nate fell back without too much resistance. The drugs were still making him groggy. Sophie held his hand and spoke softly too him as Eliot injected the sedative into the drip. Sophie could immediately see him start to fall back into unconsciousness and within a minute or two he was asleep again.

"I'll stay here. I'll call you if there is a problem." Sophie told the Hitter. Eliot nodded and after checking that everything was still good with the antibiotics and everything else. Then he left Sophie alone with Nate again.

"We'll get through this Nate, you have to believe that. You have to believe that you are going to be ok because you are. No matter what Nate we are all here for you. I am here for you, always my love." She said as she lifted his hand to her mouth and placed a kiss on it, her lips lingering on his cold skin as the tears made their appearance again.

"Oh Nate…just believe, just trust us, trust me…" She said as she sat back in the chair still clutching Nate's cold limp hand. "Trust us to get you through this please."

**Thanks again for the reviews, I can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter, I eagerly await your comments. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Three days passed with Nate being kept in a drugged state, at the suggestion of the doctor, and the rest of the Leverage team getting more and more anxious about when he was going to come out from under the sedatives. None of them were at all convinced that Nate would see what they had done as too his benefit. He was going to be very angry and all of them were worried about the fallout. Nate however was progressing nicely. The doctor was happy with the state of his lungs and they had been able to take him off the oxygen. His other injuries were also healing well and the doctor had told them on his last visit that they should start weaning Nate off the sedatives.

Nate emerged from his drug induced sleep on the morning of the fourth day. He woke to find himself lying in his bed with Sophie sitting in a chair next to him his hand firmly locked in hers. She was asleep. It was dark in the room; he was not sure if it was because the curtains were drawn and the lights were out, or if it was because it was night. He lay still for a few minutes trying to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was seeing the doctor Eliot had organised. Then he remembered nothing. Moving his arm to run his hand over his face he noticed that he was hooked up to an IV. He frowned slightly, he did not remember that. They had drugged him he realised. He vaguely remembered telling the doctor that he could give him something to help him sleep. He wondered how long he had been out for, how long they had kept him doped up.

"You're awake…" Sophie's soft voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yeah…how long did you keep me…asleep? He asked pulling his hand away from hers and pushing himself up in the bed. He had to admit he felt better than he could remember feeling in a long time, but that still did not give them permission to do what they had done.

"Three days." Sophie replied eyeing him warily. She decided it was better to be honest, he could always tell when she was lying anyway.

"Nice…" Nate said sarcastically. "Who decided that would be a good idea?"

"The doctor…" Sophie replied equally sarcastically. "You needed rest and he made sure you got it…we made sure you got it."

"You had no right."

"Sorry about that…" Sophie said then looked directly at the man in the bed. "We did…I did what was in your best interests and that is all there is too it." Sophie said defiantly.

Nate looked at her and raised one eyebrow in surprise at her attitude, but did not rebut her.

"Do you feel better?" She asked softly. "You look better and you are breathing better."

"Still doesn't make it right, you don't just go and drug somebody…and then keep them drugged for three damn days…" Nate said his anger starting to rise. "Not unless your name is Damien Moreau." He added softly.

"What…?" Sophie gasped out.

"Nothing…" Nate said looking away.

Sophie's heart broke as he turned away from her trying to hide the emotional pain in his eyes.

"Nate…please let me in. Please."

"Sophie you had no damn right to make that decision for me. If I had wanted to be drugged up I would have got my own."

"Nate calm down." Sophie said. "You gave the doctor permission to administer the sedative." She said.

"He drugged you…?" Sophie asked, she knew she was pushing the envelope but he had opened the door with his reference to Moreau and she was going to barge in, this was a chance, even if he spoke in anger, as long as he spoke.

"You drugged me…" Nate said his voice hard.

"Yes I did. And you can hate me for that. But I love you Nate. Damn you I love you and I will do anything to protect you, even from yourself. So you can hate me Nate, but I am not sorry for what I did and I would do it again, because you mean more to me than you could ever know and whether you like it or not, I will do anything to make sure you are alright." Sophie said tears spilling from her eyes as she spoke.

"I can take care of myself Sophie…" Nate said softly.

"No you can't Nate. You are so lost in that dark place he sent you too that you can't, you are not thinking straight."

"What are you now a psychiatrist?" Nate asked disdain in his voice.

"No…I am a woman who loves you with all her heart and will do anything, including drug you in order to keep you safe. I could lose you because of this, but at least you will be alive, living out there with or without me, but you will be alive Nate, and that is all that matters."

Nate was so taken aback by Sophie's outburst he was at a loss for words. He saw the tears gather in her eyes. He reached out and cupped her cheek gently.

"Sophie…I can't… I don't know how to deal with this…please don't cry, please. I will try ok, I will try." He said wiping away the tear that slipped down her cheek. "You know I don't do well with…I don't…"

"I know Nate…and I understand. But you are not alone, you have us, all of us. You have me and I am not going anywhere Nate no matter what." She said taking his hand in hers. "No matter what..."

"Sophie…"

"It's ok…you don't need to talk to me, but talk to Eliot. He understands, he knows what you went through. He can help you. Just tell me you will try, please Nate…"

"I'll try…" Nate said leaning forward and capturing her lips with his. "I'm still mad at you though…" He said as he placed small kisses to her face.

"That's ok Nate, because you are here to be mad at me…" She smiled back and climbed onto the bed next to him and curled up with her head on his chest.

"Looks like we may be alright after all…" Eliot said watching the two eldest members of Leverage Inc. on the big screen.

"You know Nate is going to kill you when he finds out you bugged his room. You know that right?" Parker said flopping down next to Hardison and smiling broadly.

"If Sophie doesn't kill him first…" Eliot smiled as he took a seat and opened the beer he had retrieved from the kitchen.

"Hey, you both in on this man…" Hardison said pulling Parker closer to him and raising his glass to Eliot with a huge grin on his face. This was the first time he felt like things were going to be alright. "Besides, they ain't never going to find out right…" Hardison said looking first at Parker and then at Eliot. "Right guys…?"

**OK well that is the end of the story. Zee-Zee Magee I hope that you enjoyed your story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope everybody else also enjoyed it and thank you all so very much for your reviews. Carebear818, Sphinx, Stella, MSJ12991, huttonfan, JustBecause2012, SusieDevereaux, february28, KendraBC and everybody else I did not mention by name who took the time to review and let me know how much you were enjoying the story I thank you all too. To everybody who favorited this story and followed it thank you all so very much. Until the next story.**


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